JP2011079462A - Tire location registering system and tire location registering method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tire location registering system and a tire location registering method, which manage a tire mounting position without using components such as an initiator for starting, for example, the optional timing of a tire ID transmitter even when the tire ID transmitter is of a self-starting type. <P>SOLUTION: Both of a UHF (Ultra High Frequency) transmitter 15 and a UHF receiver 16 are provided to the electronic key 2 of a vehicle, so that radio waves in a UHF band can be communicated interactively. By utilizing the electronic key 2 as a relay (repeater), the locations of tires 21a-21d are registered with a vehicle body. For example, when the electronic key 2 is approached to a certain tire, the radio waves from a sensor unit 23 mounted to the tire can be preferentially received under a condition that the strength of the received signals is high. Thereby, the electronic key 2 is moved close to the tires 21a-21d sequentially, and tire IDs and mounting positions are transmitted to the vehicle body, so as to register the locations. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire location registration system and a tire location registration method for registering which tire is attached at which tire attachment position in a vehicle.

  In recent years, vehicles tend to be equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS: Tire Pressure Monitoring System) that checks tire pressure while traveling. In this case, each tire of the vehicle is provided with a sensor unit that detects the tire air pressure, and the air pressure of each tire (tire air pressure signal) can be transmitted from each sensor unit. The vehicle receives these tire air pressure signals with the tuner, monitors the air pressure of each tire, and if there is a tire having an abnormal air pressure, notifies the driver of the tire.

  As shown in FIG. 9, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a tire pressure monitoring system 80 that can manage transmission operations of the sensor units 81 a to 81 d on the vehicle body side. In this case, coil antennas 84a to 84d capable of transmitting trigger signals to the corresponding sensor units 81a to 81d are attached to the vehicle body 82 at positions near the tires 83a to 83d, respectively. The sensor units 81a to 81d include both a transmitter and a receiver, and when a trigger signal is received from one of the coil antennas 84a to 84d, a tire pressure signal is transmitted in response thereto.

  And a trigger signal is transmitted in order from these coil antennas 84a-84d, and a tire pressure signal is transmitted in order from sensor unit 81a-81d (namely, tire 83a-83d). When the vehicle receives a tire air pressure signal with the tuner 85 installed in the vehicle body, the vehicle checks the tire air pressure of the signal transmission source from the signal. At this time, if there is an abnormality in the tire air pressure, the driver is notified of the tire with an abnormal air pressure using, for example, an in-vehicle instrument panel or a buzzer.

JP 2004-161245 A

  By the way, tires are often changed regularly, for example, in winter and other times, but when replacing and replacing the tire at the turn of the season, as shown in FIG. The same tire is not always attached to the same position. Here, since the tire pressure monitoring system of Patent Document 1 manages the transmission operation of the sensor units 81a to 81d by the trigger signals from the coil antennas 84a to 84d, the tire pressure signal is attached to which of the four tires 83a to 83d. It can be grasped without any problem whether it is transmitted from the position.

  However, this tire air pressure monitoring system 80 requires an initiator of coil antennas 84a to 84d for each tire 83a to 83d, so that there is a problem that the number of parts required for the system 80 increases. In addition, there is a problem that the cost of parts for the system 80 increases as the coil antennas 84a to 84d are individually prepared. Therefore, in some systems in which the tire pressure monitoring system 80 does not use such coil antennas 84a to 84d, the sensor units 81a to 81d spontaneously transmit tire pressure signals.

  However, in the case of the tire pressure monitoring system 80 in which the sensor units 81a to 81d spontaneously transmit signals, there is no means for associating the tire and the tire mounting position as in the coil antennas 84a to 84d in Patent Document 1. As a result, the tire mounting position cannot be grasped. Therefore, even if the sensor units 81a to 81d are of the signal spontaneous type, a new technology that can hold the tire and the tire mounting position in association with each other has been demanded. Note that this is not limited to the tire pressure monitoring system, but can be applied to any system having sensor units 81a to 81d that transmit spontaneously.

  The object of the present invention is to manage the mounting position of a tire without using a part such as an initiator that activates the transmitter at an arbitrary timing even when the tire ID transmitter is spontaneous. An object is to provide a tire location registration system and a tire location registration method.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a tire location registration system capable of registering which tire is attached to which tire attachment position of a vehicle, the tire being attached to each of the tires, A tire ID transmitter capable of wirelessly transmitting at least ID information spontaneously, and tire attachment position information supply means provided on an electronic key capable of wirelessly transmitting a key ID to the vehicle as a key of the vehicle, The tire attachment position information supply means is provided in the vehicle body at the time of registration, when the ID information is received from the tire ID transmitter, and is transmitted to the vehicle body as tire attachment position information. When the tire mounting position information is received by the receiver from the electronic key, which tire is based on the tire mounting position information. And summarized in that whether attached to the tire mounting position and a tire mounting position registering means for registering the vehicle body.

  According to this configuration, a function for receiving tire mounting position information, for example, a function for receiving radio waves in the UHF band is provided in a general electronic key, so that this type of electronic key is used as a relay for tire mounting position information. Make it possible. When tire mounting position information is transmitted from the tire ID transmitter, the electronic key is used as a relay to transmit the ID information from the tire ID transmitter as tire mounting position information to the vehicle body. Then, the tire mounting position information is received by the vehicle body, and the tire mounting position of each tire is registered in the vehicle body.

  By the way, when the tire ID transmitter takes a spontaneous type, since the operation of the transmitter cannot be managed on the vehicle body side, when the vehicle body receives the ID information, from which tire ID transmitter is transmitted. I can't figure it out. However, if the mounting position of the tire is registered in advance on the vehicle body side with the electronic key as in this configuration, the tire ID transmitter as the transmission source can be determined from the registered ID. Therefore, if the transmission source of the ID information can be grasped, this will be able to determine the tire attachment position. Therefore, even if the tire ID transmitter is spontaneous, the attachment position of each tire should be managed. Is possible.

  In the present invention, the tire mounting position information supply means receives the ID information from the tire ID transmitter at the position when the electronic key is placed in each area in the vehicle divided according to the tire position. The area information of the area where the electronic key is placed and the ID information are associated with each other and transmitted to the vehicle body as the tire mounting position information, and the tire mounting position registration means includes the area information and the ID information. Based on the above, the gist is to confirm which tire is attached to which tire attachment position and register it in the vehicle body.

  According to this configuration, when registering the mounting position of the tire in the vehicle body, first, an electronic key is placed in one area of each area divided according to the tire position, and the electronic key is used as the area information. To enter. And if an electronic key receives ID information from the tire ID transmitter of the tire located in the same area at this time, this ID information and area information will be linked | related, and this will be transmitted to a receiver as tire attachment position information. When the vehicle body receives the tire attachment position information with the receiver, the vehicle body registers which tire is attached to which tire attachment position from the area information and tire ID included in the tire attachment position information. And the above registration work is performed in each area in a vehicle, and the attachment position of each tire is registered into a vehicle body. Therefore, since the user's will to put the electronic key in each area is included in the registration work, the registration work can be performed more accurately.

  In the present invention, the vehicle is provided with a tire air pressure monitoring system for monitoring the air pressure of the tire based on a tire air pressure signal transmitted from a tire air pressure information transmitter serving as the tire ID transmitter. The gist of the position information supply means is to acquire the ID information from the tire pressure signal from the tire pressure information transmitter.

  According to this configuration, since the tire location registration system can be set to one mode of the tire pressure monitoring system, even if the tire attachment position is required in one processing of the tire pressure monitoring system, the vehicle This can be accommodated without significantly changing the component configuration.

  In the present invention, the tire attachment position information supply means is provided with a reception processing means that can receive the ID information only from the tire ID transmitter located in the area by lowering the radio wave reception sensitivity. Is the gist.

  According to this configuration, since the reception sensitivity of the electronic key is lowered at the time of registration, the probability of receiving only ID information from a tire ID transmitter that is very close to the electronic key increases. Therefore, even when there are a plurality of tires in the vehicle and the ID information is transmitted from the tire ID transmitter of each tire, it is possible to capture the ID information from only one specific one.

  In the present invention, a request signal is sequentially transmitted as an ID reply request to the electronic key from a plurality of in-vehicle transmitters installed in the vehicle, and the electronic key returns in response to the request signal. In-vehicle collation execution means for confirming the correctness of the electronic key located in the vehicle by performing ID collation, i.e., so-called in-vehicle collation with a signal, is provided, and the tire attachment position registration means The gist is to recognize the area where the electronic key is placed by checking whether in-vehicle verification is established by the request signal from the transmitter.

  According to this configuration, since the position of the electronic key can be automatically grasped by in-vehicle collation, the contents that can be understood by in-vehicle collation are not required in the key position registration work at the time of area registration. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the registration work by that amount, and it is possible to reduce the load imposed on the user during registration.

  In the present invention, a request signal is sequentially transmitted as an ID reply request to the electronic key from a plurality of in-vehicle transmitters installed in the vehicle, and the electronic key returns in response to the request signal. In-vehicle verification execution means for confirming the correctness of the electronic key located in the vehicle is provided by performing ID verification based on the signal, so-called in-vehicle verification, and checks the mounting position of the tire based on the in-vehicle verification execution means. The gist of the present invention is that it includes a tire mounting position check means.

  According to this configuration, since the tire attachment position can be checked by the tire attachment position check means, it is possible to notify the user that the tire attachment position has changed.

The gist of the present invention is that the receiver is also used as a vehicle-side receiver of an electronic key system that performs ID verification using the electronic key.
According to this configuration, since the receiver is shared by both the tire pressure monitoring system and the electronic key system, it is not necessary to prepare a separate receiver for each of these systems, and the number of parts mounted on the vehicle can be reduced. It becomes possible.

The gist of the present invention is that various radio waves transmitted from the electronic key are transmitted in more frames than the ID information transmitted from the tire ID transmitter.
According to this configuration, since the various radio waves of the electronic key are transmitted in more frames than the ID information of the tire ID transmitter, the various radio waves of the electronic key are sewn between the transmission operations of the tire ID transmitter. To reach. For this reason, communication between the electronic key and the receiver can be made highly feasible.

  According to the present invention, there is a tire location registration method capable of registering which tire is attached to which tire attachment position of the vehicle, and at least an ID of the tire is transmitted from a tire ID transmitter attached to each of the tires. The information is voluntarily transmitted wirelessly, the ID information from the tire ID transmitter is transmitted to the vehicle body as tire mounting position information using an electronic key, and the vehicle body transmits the tire mounting position information from the electronic key. When received by the receiver, the gist is to register in the vehicle body which tire is attached to which tire attachment position based on the tire attachment position information.

  According to the present invention, even if the tire ID transmitter is a spontaneous type, for example, the tire mounting position can be managed without using components such as an initiator that activates the transmitter at an arbitrary timing. it can.

The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the electronic key system in 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of a tire pressure monitoring system. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of a tire location registration system. (A)-(h) is explanatory drawing which shows the registration procedure at the time of registering a tire attachment position to a vehicle body. FIG. 3 is a state diagram when the electronic key is brought close to a specific tire, and an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between received signal strengths of radio waves received by the electronic key at that time. The schematic diagram and data figure which show the tire arrangement example after tire replacement. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the electronic key system in 2nd Embodiment. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of a tire location system. The schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the conventional tire pressure monitoring system. The schematic diagram which shows an example before and after tire replacement.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a tire location registration system and a tire location registration method embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 causes the request signal Srq from the vehicle 1 to wirelessly transmit the ID signal Sid from the electronic key 2, and if ID verification is established for the ID code included in the ID signal Sid, An electronic key system 3 is provided in which locking / unlocking and engine starting are permitted or executed.

  The electronic key 2 is provided with a communication control unit 11 that performs overall control of various operations of the electronic key 2. The communication control unit 11 has various devices such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12 and a memory 13, and an ID code is registered in the memory 13 as a unique key code of the electronic key 2. The electronic key 2 includes an LF receiver 14 capable of receiving LF (Low Frequency) band radio waves (about 134 KHz), a UHF (Ultra High Frequency) band radio wave (about 312 MHz) UHF transmitter 15 and the like. And a UHF receiver 16 capable of receiving radio waves in the UHF band. The electronic key 2 in this example is a key that can transmit and receive radio waves in the UHF band. The electronic key 2 is provided with, for example, a push button type locking button 18 and an unlocking button 19 so that the door lock can be locked and unlocked by remote operation.

  The vehicle 1 includes a key verification device 4 that performs key verification (ID verification) by two-way wireless communication with the electronic key 2, a door lock device 5 that manages door lock locking and unlocking, and an engine start that controls engine start. A device 17 is provided, and these devices 4 to 6 are connected via an in-vehicle bus 6. The key verification device 4 is provided with a verification ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 7 that manages ID verification. The verification ECU 7 includes an in-vehicle transmitter 8 capable of transmitting LF band radio waves outside the vehicle, an in-vehicle transmitter 9 capable of transmitting LF band radio waves into the vehicle, and a vehicle tuner 10 capable of receiving UHF band radio waves. It is connected. The vehicle tuner 10 corresponds to a receiver.

  When the electronic key 2 enters the communication area of the request signal Srq formed by the outside transmitter 8 (in-vehicle transmitter 9), the electronic key 2 transmits the ID signal Sid by radio waves in the UHF band. When the lock button 18 or the unlock button 19 of the electronic key 2 is operated, the electronic key 2 transmits a wireless signal Swl by radio waves in the UHF band. When the verification ECU 7 receives the ID signal Sid and the wireless signal Swl, the verification ECU 7 compares the ID code of the electronic key 2 with the ID code registered in its own memory 20 and executes ID verification. For example, if the ID collation executed outside the vehicle is established, door locking / unlocking is permitted or executed. On the other hand, if the ID verification executed in the vehicle is established, engine start is permitted.

  For example, when the vehicle 1 is provided with a UHF transmitter capable of transmitting UHF band radio waves to the outside of the vehicle, the verification ECU 7 confirms that the door lock locking / unlocking is completed by remote operation, and notifies the door lock locking / unlocking completion. The signal Sok may be transmitted to the electronic key 2 by radio waves in the UHF band, and the completion of door locking / unlocking may be answered to the electronic key 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 is provided with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS: Tire Pressure Monitoring System) 22 that monitors the tire pressure of the tire 21 of the vehicle 1. The tire air pressure monitoring system 22 is a system that monitors the air pressure of the four tires 21a to 21d of the vehicle 1 and warns the driver of the abnormal air pressure tire when there is an abnormal air pressure tire. The tire pressure monitoring system 22 of this example is a direct type that detects the air pressure of the tires 21a to 21d by attaching sensor components inside the tires 21a to 21d, and notifies the detected tire pressure to the vehicle body 1a side. ing.

  In this case, each of the tires 21a to 21d is provided with a sensor unit 23 that can detect the tire air pressure and notify the detection information to the outside. The sensor unit 23 is provided with a control unit 24 that manages the operation of the unit 23. The control unit 24 is composed of, for example, an IC (Integrated Circuit) including a CPU, a memory, and the like. An air pressure detection sensor 25 that detects the air pressure of the tire 21 is connected to the control unit 24. The air pressure detection sensor 25 includes, for example, a pressure sensor, periodically monitors tire air pressure, and sequentially outputs detection signals to the control unit 24 as a monitoring result. Further, the control unit 24 is provided with a temperature sensor 25 a that detects the temperature of the sensor unit 23, and a remaining battery level detection unit 25 b that detects the remaining battery level of the battery that is the power source of the sensor unit 23. The control unit 24 sequentially grasps the current air pressure of the tire 21 based on the detection signal input from the air pressure detection sensor 25. In addition, the control unit 24 grasps the current temperature of the sensor unit 23 based on the detection signal of the temperature sensor 25a, and grasps the remaining battery level based on the detection signal of the remaining battery level detection unit 25b.

  A sensor transmitter 26 capable of transmitting UHF radio waves is connected to the control unit 24. When the sensor transmitter 26 receives an operation command from the control unit 24, the sensor transmitter 26 transmits a tire air pressure signal Stp as a radio wave for notifying the tire air pressure using a radio wave in the UHF band. The sensor unit 23 constitutes a tire ID transmitter and a tire pressure information transmitter, and the tire pressure signal Stp corresponds to ID information.

  The tire air pressure signal Stp includes, in addition to the tire air pressure, a unique ID (tire ID) of the tires 21a to 21d, a tire temperature, a remaining battery level of the sensor unit 23, and the like. In the case of this example, tire IDs are assigned ID1 to the tire 21a, ID2 to the tire 21b, ID3 to the tire 21c, and ID4 to the tire 21d. The tire air pressure signal Stp includes, for example, a preamble (frame start bit) at the head, and is transmitted in a plurality of frames (for example, two frames) similarly to the wireless signal Swl. Further, the transmission area of the tire pressure signal Stp is set to an area where the signal Stp reaches the vehicle tuner 10.

  The sensor units 23 of the tires 21a to 21 individually move independently and transmit the tire pressure signal Stp spontaneously. In the case of this example, each sensor unit 23 has a simple timer, and measures the time with the timer, thereby transmitting the tire air pressure signal Stp in a cycle with a random waiting time or a fixed time.

  On the other hand, the vehicle 1 is provided with a tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 as a control unit of the tire pressure monitoring system 22. The tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 is composed of devices such as a CPU and a memory, for example, and is connected to the vehicle tuner 10 that is also used as a reception tuner of the tire pressure monitoring system 22. When the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 receives the tire pressure signal Stp at the vehicle tuner 10, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 grasps the air pressure of the tires 21a to 21d based on the tire pressure signal Stp. The tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 is connected to a meter 28 in the vehicle, and display control of the meter 28 is possible. When the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 recognizes from the tire pressure monitoring result that there is a tire 21 in which an abnormal air pressure has occurred, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 displays the tire 21 on the meter 28 and notifies the driver.

  When the vehicle 1 starts running, the sensor units 23 of the tires 21a to 21d transmit the tire air pressure signal Stp at a specific transmission timing. In the case of this example, the tire air pressure signal Stp is transmitted from each sensor unit 23, and this transmission cycle is repeatedly executed during the vehicle traveling period. At this time, if the tire pressure signal Stp reaches the vehicle tuner 10 directly from the sensor unit 23, the notification of the tire pressure signal Stp is completed.

  By the way, the tire air pressure signal Stp has a faster data rate with respect to various signals of the same frequency transmitted from the vehicle 1 to the electronic key 2. This is to save energy of the battery of the sensor unit 23 by shortening the transmission time of the tire pressure signal Stp as much as possible. When the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 receives the radio wave at the vehicle tuner 10, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 recognizes that the data rate of the received radio wave and the ID code are in accordance with the tire pressure signal Stp, thereby confirming that the tire pressure signal Stp has been received. recognize.

  When the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 receives the tire pressure signal Stp, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 recognizes the tire 21 as a signal transmission source from the tire ID included in the tire pressure signal Stp, and confirms the tire pressure included in the same signal Stp. The tire pressure of the tire 21 is confirmed. If there is an abnormality in the tire pressure, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 notifies the driver of the abnormality in the air pressure with a meter 28 in the vehicle and issues a warning. The tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 checks the air pressure of each tire 21 by performing this operation every time the tire pressure signal Stp is sequentially acquired from the tire 21.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tire pressure monitoring system 22 is provided with a tire location registration system 29 that registers the mounting positions of the tires 21a to 21d on the vehicle body 1a side using the electronic key 2 as a repeater. It has been. By the way, when the electronic key 2 is brought close to a specific one of the tires 21a to 21d, the sensor unit 23 attached to the tire is approached. The received signal strength RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) is increased. Therefore, since the transmission radio wave from which sensor unit 23 is known, the tire location is registered using this characteristic.

  Therefore, the tire location registration system 29 is divided into four areas (the right front tire area E1, the left front tire area E2, the right rear tire area E3, and the left rear tire area E4) obtained by dividing the interior of the vehicle into four according to the respective tires 21a to 21d. The registration work of arranging the electronic key 2 and transmitting information relating to the tire ID and its mounting position (hereinafter referred to as tire mounting position information Sk) from the electronic key 2 to the vehicle tuner 10 is performed for each area. Then, the attachment positions of the tires 21a to 21d are registered in the vehicle body 1a. The electronic key 2 receives the tire pressure signal Stp from the sensor unit 23 with the UHF receiver 16 and outputs the data group to the communication control unit 11.

  The communication control unit 11 is provided with a mode switching unit 31 that switches the operation mode of the electronic key 2 to the registration mode. When the mode switching unit 31 detects that the registration mode switching operation to the tire location has been performed using, for example, the buttons (the lock button 18 and the unlock button 19) of the electronic key 2, the electronic key 2 is changed from the normal mode to the registration mode. Switch. In this registration mode, the electronic key 2 preferentially executes communication of the tire location registration system 29 instead of the electronic key system 3.

  Here, as described above, when the electronic key 2 is brought close to a predetermined tire, the transmission radio wave from the sensor unit 23 attached to the tire is received with high received signal strength RSSI. For example, when the state in which the electronic key 2 is brought close to the right front tire 21a is illustrated in FIG. 5, as can be seen from FIG. 5, of the radio waves received from the sensor units 23, 23. Although the radio wave from the sensor unit 23 exceeds the threshold (threshold), the radio waves from the sensor units 23 of the other tires 21b to 21d have values lower than the threshold. For this reason, in the registration mode, the electronic key 2 takes the radio wave with the received signal strength RSSI larger than the threshold by the operation of bringing the electronic key 2 closer to the tire 21, so that this is indicated as the tire mounting position from a specific tire. It can be acquired as information Sk.

  The communication control unit 11 is provided with a key arrangement area acquisition unit 32 that acquires the position of the electronic key 2 in an area obtained by dividing the interior of the vehicle into quarters. In this area input, for example, by operating the buttons of the electronic key 2 (locking button 18, unlocking button 19), the electronic key 2 is input to the electronic key 2 in which position the electronic key 2 is placed in the front, rear, left and right directions. It is work to do. The key arrangement area acquisition unit 32 acquires the area position input by the button as an area where the electronic key 2 is arranged, that is, area information.

  The communication control unit 11 is provided with a tire mounting position information acquisition unit 33 that acquires the tire mounting position information Sk under the registration mode by using the strength of the received signal strength RSSI described above. When the tire mounting position information acquisition unit 33 receives the tire pressure signal Stp from the sensor unit 23 after the electronic key 2 is set to the registration mode and the area input operation is performed, the tire mounting position information acquisition unit 33 receives the signal Stp having the highest received signal strength RSSI. Tire ID is acquired by receiving. The tire attachment position information acquisition unit 33 associates the area information acquired by the key arrangement area acquisition unit 32 with the tire ID received at this time, and generates this as tire attachment position information Sk. The tire attachment position information Sk is information that indicates which ID of the tires 21a to 21d is attached to which tire attachment position on the right front, left front, right rear, and left rear. The tire mounting position information Sk includes, for example, a preamble (frame start bit) at the head, and is transmitted in a plurality of frames (for example, two frames) similarly to the wireless signal Swl.

  The communication control unit 11 is provided with a tire mounting position information transmission unit 34 that can transmit the tire mounting position information Sk by UHF radio waves. When the tire attachment position information acquisition unit 33 generates the tire attachment position information Sk, the tire attachment position information transmission unit 34 transmits the tire attachment position information Sk from the UHF transmitter 15 using UHF radio waves. The transmission area of the tire attachment position information Sk is transmitted in a range that covers the inside of the vehicle so that the information Sk reaches the vehicle tuner 10. The UHF receiver 16, the mode switching unit 31, the key arrangement area acquisition unit 32, the tire attachment position information acquisition unit 33, and the tire attachment position information transmission unit 34 constitute tire attachment position information supply means.

  On the other hand, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 is provided with a signal acquisition unit 35 that acquires the tire attachment position information Sk when the electronic key 2 receives the tire attachment position information Sk with the vehicle tuner 10. When receiving the tire mounting position information Sk, the signal acquisition unit 35 sets the tire air pressure monitoring ECU 27 to the registration mode and starts a registration operation.

  In addition, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 is provided with a tire attachment position registration unit 36 that grasps the attachment positions of the respective tires 21a to 21d based on the tire attachment position information Sk and registers them. The tire attachment position registration unit 36 recognizes which tire 21a to 21d of which ID is attached to which tire attachment position from the area information and tire ID included in the tire attachment position information Sk, and stores this in its own memory. 37. The tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 performs this registration work every time it receives the tire mounting position information Sk from the electronic key 2 and holds the IDs of the tires 21a to 21d and the tire mounting positions in the memory 37 in association with each other. The signal acquisition unit 35 and the tire attachment position registration unit 36 constitute a tire attachment position registration unit.

Next, the operation of the tire rotation registration system of this example will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the operation buttons (locking button 18 and unlocking button 19) of the electronic key 2 are operated according to a specific procedure and the number of times, and the operation mode of the electronic key 2 is set to the registration mode. The electronic key 2 executes a communication operation according to the electronic key system 3 when the operation mode is the normal mode. However, when entering the registration mode, the electronic key 2 preferentially executes a communication operation according to the tire location registration system 29. When the mode switching unit 31 confirms that the input operation has been performed with the electronic key 2, the operation mode of the electronic key 2 is set to the registration mode.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), one specific area (FIG. 4 (b) is the right front tire area) among the areas E1 to E4 divided into four in accordance with the positions of the tires 21a to 21d. The electronic key 2 is positioned at E1).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), the operation buttons (locking button 18 and unlocking button 19) of the electronic key 2 are operated according to the specific procedure and the number of times while the electronic key 2 is positioned in the right front tire area E1. Then, the fact that the electronic key 2 is currently located, that is, the right front tire area E1, is input to the electronic key 2. At this time, the key arrangement area acquisition unit 32 acquires the area input to the electronic key 2 as the arrangement area of the electronic key 2, that is, the area information of the electronic key 2.

  After the arrangement area of the electronic key 2 is input, the tire pressure signal Stp transmitted from the sensor unit 23 of the tire 21 existing in the arrangement area of the electronic key 2 is received by the electronic key 2 as shown in FIG. . At this time, the tire mounting position information acquisition unit 33 has poor radio wave reception sensitivity, in other words, the threshold value of the reception reference so that the electronic key 2 receives the tire pressure signal Stp only from the sensor unit 23 of the right front tire 21a. Set to a high value to perform reception. Thus, the electronic key 2 is transmitted from the sensor unit 23 of the right front tire 21a without receiving the tire pressure signal Stp transmitted from the sensor units 23 of the left front tire 21b, the right rear tire 21c, and the left rear tire 21d. Only the tire pressure signal Stp is received.

  When the tire attachment position information acquisition unit 33 receives the tire pressure signal Stp of the right front tire 21a with the UHF receiver 16, the tire attachment position information acquisition unit 33 reads the tire ID included in the tire pressure signal Stp, and reads the tire ID and the previously input area. Data of tire attachment position information Sk is generated in association with the information. Here, information that the tire 21a (the tire of ID1) is attached to the right front of the vehicle body is generated as the tire attachment position information Sk.

  After the tire mounting position information Sk is generated, the electronic key 2 transmits the tire mounting position information Sk using UHF radio waves as shown in FIG. This transmission operation is executed by the tire attachment position information transmission unit 34.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (f), the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 receives the tire attachment position information Sk from the electronic key 2 by the vehicle tuner 10. At this time, the signal acquisition unit 35 acquires the tire attachment position information Sk from the vehicle tuner 10. Then, the tire attachment position registration unit 36 grasps which tire 21a to 21d of which ID is attached to which tire attachment position based on the tire attachment position information Sk, and registers this in the memory 37. . In this case, it is registered in the memory 37 that the tire 21a having ID1 is attached to the right front of the vehicle body.

  And as shown in FIG.4 (g), registration work similar to FIG.4 (b)-FIG.4 (f) is performed also in remaining area E2-E4, and tire 21b- of which ID of each tire attachment position- It is registered in the memory 37 whether 21d is attached. When all four tires 21a to 21d are registered, the tire location registration is completed.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, it is assumed that the tire 21d is attached to the front right of the vehicle body, the tire 21b is attached to the front left of the vehicle body, the tire 21a is attached to the rear right of the vehicle body, and the tire 21c is attached to the rear left of the vehicle body. At this time, if the tire location registration system 29 is used to register the mounting positions of the tires 21a to 21d in the vehicle body 1a, the memory 37 of the tire air pressure monitoring ECU 27 stores the post-replacement as shown in FIG. The relationship between the mounting position and the tire ID is registered. Therefore, even if the attachment positions of the tires 21a to 21d are changed, it is possible to identify which tire 21a to 21d is in which attachment position.

  By the way, when the sensor unit 23 is of the spontaneous type as in this example, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 can determine the tire ID of the signal transmission source from the tire pressure signal Stp when receiving the tire pressure signal Stp. From the tire pressure signal Stp, it is not possible to determine which mounting position the tire is from. However, in this example, since the tire location registration system 29 using the electronic key 2 is provided, if the tire mounting position is first registered on the vehicle body 1a side by the system 29, which tire 21a to 21d is registered. It is possible to know in advance which tire mounting position is attached. Therefore, even if the sensor unit 23 is a spontaneous type, the attachment positions of the tires 21a to 21d can be managed.

According to the configuration of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the tire location registration system 29 using the electronic key 2 as a repeater is provided in the vehicle 1, it is possible to register the attachment positions of the tires 21a to 21d on the vehicle body 1a side. For this reason, even if the sensor unit 23 is a spontaneous type as in this example, when the tire pressure signal Stp is received, the transmission source of the tire pressure signal Stp is known from the registered tire ID, so the tires 21a to 21a. The attachment position of 21d can be grasped. Therefore, even if a spontaneous type sensor unit 23 is used in terms of component costs and the like, the mounting positions of the tires 21a to 21d can be managed without problems.

  (2) The electronic key 2 is placed in order in each of the areas E1 to E4 divided into four in the vehicle, and a registration operation for transferring the tire mounting position information Sk from the electronic key 2 to the vehicle tuner 10 is performed. For this reason, since the user's will to put the electronic key 2 in each of the areas E1 to E4 is included in the registration work, the registration work can be performed more accurately.

  (3) The tire ID is acquired from the tire pressure signal Stp output from the sensor unit 23, and this is relayed from the electronic key 2 to the vehicle 1 to register the tire mounting position in the vehicle body 1a. For this reason, since the tire location registration system 29 can be set to one mode of the tire pressure monitoring system 22, even if the mounting positions of the tires 21 a to 21 d are necessary in one process of the system 22, This can be accommodated without significantly changing the original component configuration of the vehicle 1.

  (4) When receiving the tire pressure signal Stp by placing the electronic key 2 in one area of a specific vehicle, the reception sensitivity of the electronic key 2 is lowered and the tire pressure signal Stp is acquired. The probability of receiving only the tire pressure signal Stp from the near sensor unit 23 can be increased. Therefore, even when the tire pressure signal Stp is transmitted from each of the plurality of sensor units 23, 23... Of the vehicle 1, the tire pressure signal Stp is transmitted from the specific one only when the tire mounting position is registered. 2 can be received.

  (5) The vehicle tuner 10 on the vehicle 1 side of the electronic key system 3 is used as a receiver on the vehicle body 1 a side of the tire pressure monitoring system 22. For this reason, it is not necessary to prepare separate tuners for the electronic key system 3 and the tire pressure monitoring system 22, so that the number of components mounted on the vehicle 1 can be reduced.

  (6) Since the number of frames of various radio waves (request signal Srq, wireless signal Swl, tire mounting position information Sk, etc.) transmitted from the electronic key 2 is larger than the number of frames of the tire pressure signal Stp, These transmission radio waves easily reach the vehicle tuner 10 by sewing between the tire pressure signals Stp. Therefore, communication between the electronic key 2 and the vehicle tuner 10 can be easily established.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This example is different from the first embodiment in that the function of the electronic key system 3 is used for the tire location registration system 29. Therefore, since the basic configuration of this example is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, detailed description thereof will be omitted, and only different parts will be described.

  The tire location registration system 29 can also simplify the registration work based on the verification result of in-vehicle verification. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality (two in this example) of in-vehicle transmitters 9 a and 9 b are installed in the vehicle, and are respectively arranged in the front part of the car and the rear part of the car. The in-vehicle transmitter 9a forms an in-vehicle communication area Ea in the LF band in the front area of the in-vehicle, and the in-vehicle transmitter 9b forms an in-vehicle communication area Eb in the LF band in the rear area of the vehicle. These in-vehicle transmitters 9a and 9b transmit request signals Srq in order with a time difference to confirm the establishment of smart verification. Therefore, in this case, by checking whether the smart verification is established by the request signal Srq from which in-vehicle transmitter 9a, 9b, the verification ECU 7 is located in either the front or the rear in the vehicle. It is possible to confirm whether

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 obtains electronic key position information that obtains information (hereinafter referred to as electronic key position information) from where the electronic key 2 is located in the front and rear of the vehicle from the verification ECU 7. A portion 41 is provided. The electronic key position information acquisition unit 41 can output this electronic key position information to the tire attachment position registration unit 36. The tire attachment position registration unit 36 acquires electronic key position information from the electronic key position information acquisition unit 41 at the time of registration of the tire attachment position, and grasps from the information whether the electronic key 2 is in the front or rear of the vehicle. This is used for registration. The electronic key position information acquisition unit 41 constitutes a tire attachment position registration unit.

  By the way, in the case of the first embodiment, when performing area registration with the electronic key 2, it is necessary to input two parameters, “whether the electronic key 2 is on the left or right” and “whether it is on the front or back”. It was. However, in the case of this example, the parameter “whether it is either before or after” is automatically recognized by in-vehicle verification of the area where the signal of the LF band arrives. All you have to do is enter “Which is on the left or right?”. Therefore, since the information that imposes input on the user can be reduced, the input work at the time of area registration can be simplified.

  Moreover, it is also possible to check each ID of tire 21a-21d by using the electronic key 2 as a repeater. In this case, the communication control unit 11 of the electronic key 2 includes a tire ID acquisition unit 42 that acquires a tire ID based on a tire air pressure signal Stp from the sensor unit 23, and a tire ID in the ID signal Sid at the time of in-vehicle verification. A tire ID transmission unit 43 that additionally transmits the tire ID is provided. When the electronic key 2 enters the vehicle, the reception sensitivity of the UHF receiver 16 is automatically lowered so that the tire pressure signal Stp can be acquired only from the specific sensor unit 23. Further, since in-vehicle verification is periodically performed even when the vehicle is traveling, the tire ID transmission unit 43 transmits the tire ID together with the ID code to the verification ECU 7 at each in-vehicle verification. In addition, the tire ID acquisition part 42 and the tire ID transmission part 43 comprise a tire attachment position check means.

  On the other hand, the tire pressure monitoring ECU 27 is provided with a tire ID confirmation unit 44 for confirming whether or not the positions of the tires 21a to 21d after the ID registration have not been exchanged. By the way, as described above, by checking which in-vehicle transmitter 9a, 9b the in-vehicle collation is established, it is possible to confirm in which position the electronic key 2 is located before or after the inside of the vehicle. Therefore, if the tire ID is added to the ID signal Sid at the time of in-vehicle verification, it is determined whether the tire 21a to 21d of which tire ID is located in the front or rear of the vehicle (the verification ECU 7, tire pressure monitoring). It is possible to notify the ECU 27). The tire ID confirmation unit 44 constitutes tire attachment position check means.

  Accordingly, the tire ID confirmation unit 44 confirms the attachment positions of the tires 21a to 21d by comparing the registered content of the tire air pressure monitoring ECU 27 with the notification content obtained at the time of in-vehicle verification. For example, if the tires 21a to 21d are exchanged back and forth after registration of the tire attachment position, the electronic key 2 should be attached to the rear part of the vehicle body even though the electronic key 2 is located in the front part of the vehicle. The tire ID is notified at the time of in-vehicle verification. Therefore, the tire ID confirmation unit 44 confirms that the tire ID takes an illegal combination, and notifies the driver of a warning with the meter 28 or the like. For this reason, it becomes possible to notify a driver | operator that the tires 21a-21d were attached to the location different from the time of registration.

According to the configuration of this embodiment, in addition to the effects described in (1) to (6) of the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(7) By referring to the result of in-vehicle verification, it is confirmed whether the electronic key 2 is located in the front or back of the vehicle. It is not necessary to input whether 2 is located in the front or rear of the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the registration work by that amount, and the load imposed on the user during registration can be reduced as much as possible.

  (8) When the tire pressure signal Stp is acquired at the time of in-vehicle verification and the tire ID can be checked, it is possible to check whether the tires 21a to 21d are located at the same mounting position as at the time of registration. If the mounting positions of the tires 21a to 21d are changed, this can be notified to the user.

Note that the embodiment is not limited to the configuration described so far, and may be modified as follows.
In the first and second embodiments, for example, in the registration mode, the sensor unit 23 can perform an operation of transmitting signals in a predetermined order (for example, right front → left front → right rear → left rear from the mode start). If so, the electronic key 2 may be configured to simply relay the tire ID to the vehicle body 1a.

  In the first and second embodiments, the condition for switching the electronic key 2 to the registration mode is not limited to the specific operation of the lock button 18 and the unlock button 19. For example, the electronic key 2 may be shaken a predetermined number of times, or when the electronic key 2 includes a numeric keypad and a display, a password may be input using the numeric keypad while looking at the display.

  -In the first and second embodiments, for example, while looking at a display installed in a car for a car navigation system, by touching the display or operating various buttons in the car, the tire location registration The system 29 may be switched to the registration mode.

  In the first and second embodiments, when registering the tire mounting position, the vehicle 1 and the electronic key 2 are not limited to entering the registration mode, and may be configured to allow registration work in a normal state.

  In the first and second embodiments, the tire ID transmitter is not limited to the sensor unit 23 that mainly transmits the tire air pressure, and may be any transmitter that can transmit at least the tire ID.

  In the first and second embodiments, the tire location registration system 29 is not limited to a system that uses the tire pressure monitoring system 22, and may have a configuration independent of the system 22.

In the first and second embodiments, when the tire pressure signal Stp is captured by the electronic key 2, the process for reducing the reception sensitivity of the electronic key 2 is not necessarily required, and the process may be omitted.
In the first and second embodiments, for example, the registration time in each area E1 to E4 is limited, and the order when the electronic key 2 is placed in each area E1 to E4 is, for example, right front → left front → right rear → It may be set in advance such as left rear. In this case, it is not necessary to input the arrangement area of the electronic key 2 during the registration work, and the registration work can be simplified.

-In 1st and 2nd embodiment, when all the registration of a tire attachment position is completed, you may notify that with a buzzer, a horn, etc. of the vehicle 1 to the user.
In the first and second embodiments, the data content of the tire attachment position information Sk may be any information as long as at least information related to the tire attachment position is included. Further, the frequency of the tire attachment position information Sk is not necessarily limited to RF, and other frequencies may be used.

  In the first and second embodiments, the electronic key system 3 is not limited to the difference in radio wave between the forward communication (vehicle 1 → electronic key 2) and the backward communication (electronic key 2 → vehicle 1). In both cases, a system using radio waves in the RF band may be used. In this case, the receiver of the electronic key 2 prepared separately for LF and RF can be integrated into one.

  In the first and second embodiments, the spontaneous timing for outputting the signal Stp of the sensor unit 23 is not necessarily limited to being constant. For example, the transmission interval may be shortened as the tire pressure decreases.

In the first and second embodiments, the data included in the tire pressure signal Stp may include parameters other than those described in the embodiments.
In the first and second embodiments, the electronic key system 3 is not limited to the one including both the key operation free system and the wireless key system, and may be either one. The electronic key system 3 may be an immobilizer system that performs ID verification using a transponder embedded in the electronic key 2.

  In the first and second embodiments, the tire pressure monitoring system 22 is not limited to sharing one component (the vehicle tuner 10) of the electronic key system 3, and is a system independent of the electronic key system 3. May be. That is, the receiver may be provided separately for the electronic key system 3 and the tire pressure monitoring system 22.

In the first and second embodiments, the number of in-vehicle transmitters 9 is not necessarily limited to 2, for example, one may be provided, or three or more may be provided.
Next, technical ideas that can be grasped from the above-described embodiment and other examples will be described below together with their effects.

  (A) In any one of claims 1 to 8, there is provided a mode changing means provided on the electronic key and for switching the operation mode of the electronic key to a tire attachment position registration mode. According to this configuration, when the tire mounting position is registered in the vehicle body, the electronic key is switched to the registration mode. Therefore, even if the electronic key receives another radio wave at the time of registration, it operates in response to this. Therefore, the registration work can be performed smoothly.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 1a ... Vehicle body, 2 ... Electronic key, 3 ... Electronic key system which comprises in-vehicle collation execution means, 9, 9a, 9b ... In-vehicle transmitter, 10 ... Vehicle tuner as receiver, 16 ... Tire attachment position UHF receiver constituting information supply means, 21 (21a to 21d) ... tire, 22 ... tire pressure monitoring system, 23 ... tire ID transmitter, sensor unit constituting tire pressure information transmitter, 29 ... tire location registration system 31 ... Mode switching unit constituting tire attachment position information supply means, 32 ... Key arrangement area acquisition part constituting tire attachment position information supply means, 33 ... Tire attachment constituting tire attachment position information supply means and reception processing means Position information acquisition unit 34... Tire mounting position information transmission unit constituting tire mounting position information supply means 35 35 Tire mounting position A signal acquisition unit constituting the registration means, 36... A tire attachment position registration unit constituting the tire attachment position registration means, 41... An electronic key position information obtaining unit constituting the tire attachment position registration means, 42. Constructing tire ID acquisition unit, 43... Tire ID transmitting unit constituting tire mounting position checking means, 44... Tire ID confirming section as tire mounting position checking means, Stp... Tire pressure signal as ID information, Sk. Position information, E1 to E4 ... area, Srq ... request signal, Sid ... ID signal.

Claims (9)

A tire location registration system capable of registering which tire is mounted at which tire mounting position of a vehicle,
A tire ID transmitter attached to each of the tires and capable of spontaneously wirelessly transmitting at least ID information of the tire;
Tire attachment position information supply means provided on an electronic key capable of wirelessly transmitting a key ID to the vehicle as a key of the vehicle, wherein the tire attachment position information supply means is registered with the ID from the tire ID transmitter at the time of registration. When the information is received, the tire mounting position information supply means for transmitting this to the vehicle body as tire mounting position information;
When the tire mounting position information is received by the receiver from the electronic key provided on the vehicle body, which tire is mounted at which tire mounting position is registered in the vehicle body based on the tire mounting position information. A tire location registration system comprising tire attachment position registration means. The tire attachment position information supply means receives the ID information from the tire ID transmitter at the position when the electronic key is placed in each area in the vehicle divided according to the tire position. Is associated with the area information and the ID information, and this is transmitted to the vehicle body as the tire mounting position information,
The tire attachment position registration means confirms which tire is attached to which tire attachment position based on the area information and the ID information, and registers this in the vehicle body. The tire location registration system according to 1. The vehicle is provided with a tire pressure monitoring system that monitors the tire pressure based on a tire pressure signal transmitted from a tire pressure information transmitter as the tire ID transmitter,
The tire location registration system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tire mounting position information supply means acquires the ID information from the tire pressure signal from the tire pressure information transmitter.   The tire mounting position information supply means is provided with reception processing means that can receive the ID information only from the tire ID transmitter located in the area by lowering radio wave reception sensitivity. The tire location registration system according to claim 2 or 3. The vehicle has a plurality of in-vehicle transmitters installed in the vehicle to sequentially send a request signal as an ID reply request to the electronic key, and the ID signal returned by the electronic key in response to the request signal is used for ID verification. In-vehicle collation execution means for confirming the correctness of the electronic key located in the vehicle by performing so-called in-vehicle collation,
The tire mounting position registration means recognizes the area where the electronic key is placed by checking in the vehicle verification execution means by the request signal from the vehicle transmitter that the vehicle verification is established. The tire location registration system according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The vehicle has a plurality of in-vehicle transmitters installed in the vehicle to sequentially send a request signal as an ID reply request to the electronic key, and the ID signal returned by the electronic key in response to the request signal is used for ID verification. In-vehicle collation execution means for confirming the correctness of the electronic key located in the vehicle by performing so-called in-vehicle collation,
The tire location registration system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a tire attachment position check unit that checks an attachment position of the tire based on the in-vehicle collation execution unit.   The tire according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the receiver is also used as a vehicle-side receiver of an electronic key system that performs ID verification using the electronic key. Location registration system.   The various radio waves transmitted from the electronic key are transmitted in more frames than the ID information transmitted from the tire ID transmitter. Tire location registration system. A tire location registration method capable of registering which tire is attached to which tire attachment position of the vehicle,
At least ID information of the tire is spontaneously wirelessly transmitted from a tire ID transmitter attached to each of the tires, and the ID information from the tire ID transmitter is used as tire attachment position information using an electronic key. When the vehicle body is transmitted to the vehicle body and the vehicle body receives the tire mounting position information from the electronic key, the vehicle body indicates which tire is mounted at which tire mounting position based on the tire mounting position information. The tire location registration method characterized by registering in.

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