The present invention provides a tire-wear detection sensor for a vehicle having a telematics system and tires including a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and an RF antenna in electronic communication with the sensors, and capable of transmitting the temperature signal and the pressure signal to the telematics system.

A method for pairing a measurement module with a wheel of a motor vehicle. The method is implemented by a computer and includes, for each received measured signal, determining the power of the measured signal, determining the angular orientation of each wheel and identifying, in a plurality of tables, a row and column pair including the determined power and the angular orientation of each wheel. The pairing being performed when, for a number of determined columns of each table higher than a first minimum threshold, the number of row and column pairs identified in one table is lower than a predetermined maximum threshold and the number of row and column pairs identified in the other tables is higher than a second minimum threshold.

A method whereby a central unit carried on board a motor vehicle can identify the wheels of a motor vehicle, by locating a radiofrequency black spot for transmissions between a wheel unit with which a wheel of a motor vehicle is equipped and a wheel-monitoring central control unit carried on board the vehicle, a wheel angle encoding independent of the transmission being in any case performed in order to measure the true rotation of the wheel at a given instant. A string of successive frames providing full angular coverage of the wheel is transmitted from the wheel unit, a receive rate for the frames being established and analyzed in order to detect at least one spot of poorer reception corresponding to the at least one black spot, the angle encoding providing an angle of rotation of the wheel at the instant of detection of the at least one black spot.

A method of dynamically optimizing antenna performance in a wireless sensor network is set forth, comprising scanning multiple frequency bands via successive ones of a plurality of antennae for receiving indications of signal strength at each antenna for each scanned frequency band; and selecting one of said plurality of antennae having highest signal strength over one of said multiple frequency bands for communication over said one of said multiple frequency bands.

A method for signaling the theft of a wheel of a motor vehicle. The vehicle includes a plurality of wheels and a computer. At least one of the wheels includes a sensor. The method includes, for the at least one wheel, the steps of measuring at least one value for the internal pressure of the tire of the wheel, detecting that the vehicle has been raised if the absolute value of the difference between the at least one measured internal pressure value and a predetermined reference internal pressure value is greater than a predetermined pressure difference threshold when it is detected the vehicle has been raised, detecting the detachment of the wheel when it is detected that the wheel has become detached, and signaling the theft of the wheel.

The present invention provides a tire-wear detection sensor for a vehicle having a telematics system and tires including a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and an RF antenna in electronic communication with the sensors, and capable of transmitting the temperature signal and the pressure signal to the telematics system.

Techniques are described for using one or more wireless host devices to perform tire localization of TPMS sensor data by determining received signal strength indicator (RSSI) signatures that are unique to the wireless communication channel between a host device and each TPMS sensor. RSSI signatures represents a periodic variation of the wireless communication channel between a host device on the car body and a TPMS sensor in a rotating tire. Characteristics of the communication channel is a function of the wheel angle and is periodic with wheel rotations. The RSSI signatures may be created by matching RSSI measurements of packets received by the host device from a TPMS sensor with wheel angles derived from wheel speed sensor (WSS) data of the anti-lock braking system (ABS). The RSSI signatures are a unique marker of each wheel that may be used to identify the locations of the TPMS sensors for tire localization.

A self-adaptive method for assisting in the inflation of tires of a vehicle that is stationary in an immobilization mode, the method including continuously measuring at least the pressure of each tire by way of a wheel unit, transmitting signals on the state of the tires between each wheel unit and a central unit, these signals being transmitted by each wheel unit through frequency-shift keying between two first predetermined frequencies defining a first frequency band. In a immobilization mode, each wheel unit is reprogrammed such that it transmits, to the central unit, first and second frequency-shift keyed signals respectively with first and second frequency bands, the second band being wider than the first band.

A self-adaptive method for assisting in the inflation of tires of a vehicle that is stationary in an immobilization mode, the method including continuously measuring at least the pressure of each tire by way of a wheel unit, transmitting signals on the state of the tires between each wheel unit and a central unit, these signals being transmitted by each wheel unit through frequency-shift keying between two first predetermined frequencies defining a first frequency band. In a immobilization mode, each wheel unit is reprogrammed such that it transmits, to the central unit, first and second frequency-shift keyed signals respectively with first and second frequency bands, the second band being wider than the first band.

Techniques are described for using one or more wireless host devices to perform tire localization of TPMS sensor data by determining received signal strength indicator (RSSI) signatures that are unique to the wireless communication channel between a host device and each TPMS sensor. RSSI signatures represents a periodic variation of the wireless communication channel between a host device on the car body and a TPMS sensor in a rotating tire. Characteristics of the communication channel is a function of the wheel angle and is periodic with wheel rotations. The RSSI signatures may be created by matching RSSI measurements of packets received by the host device from a TPMS sensor with wheel angles derived from wheel speed sensor (WSS) data of the anti-lock braking system (ABS). The RSSI signatures are a unique marker of each wheel that may be used to identify the locations of the TPMS sensors for tire localization.