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Tire safety monitoring from Omron

Omron Automotive Electronics' co-developed tire-pressure-monitoring system is expected to be production-ready by the 2003 model year. Click to enlarge

Radio frequency (RF) technology has been applied to a tire-pressure-monitoring system from Omron Automotive Electronics that measures air pressure and air temperature inside each tire. The information is recorded by sensor transmitter valves at each wheel and sent via a wireless transmitter to a RF receiver.

"You could use the same RF technology that's used for remote keyless entry by adopting the receiver to pick up the signals for the tire-pressure-monitoring system," said Jerry Bricker, Omron Automotive Electronics General Sales Manager in Farmington Hills, MI. "Any time you can integrate modules—that's a cost savings. Automakers don't need or want the added space, weight, design time, or cost required if two receivers are used."

The Omron system, jointly developed with a tire-valve manufacturer, addresses the TREAD (Transportation Recall Enhancement Accountability and Documentation) Act passed in October 2000. In short, the Act requires that new vehicles have a tire-pressure-monitoring system no later than the 2004 model year.

Additional benefits of the tire-pressure-monitoring system include continuous sensor transmission (even when the vehicle isn't moving) and high noise immunity (by design, the system is virtually unaffected by electrical noise from other electronics devices). "The system is designed to work with other Omron electronic products, such as the receiver we make for our remote keyless entry systems," said Bricker.

Omron expects the tire-pressure-monitoring system to be production-ready by the 2003 model year.

- Kami Buchholz

E-wheel control from Technologies M4

Technologies M4's E-Wheel mates to Michelin's PAX tire and wheel system.

The concept for a drive system that can be housed in vehicle wheel assemblies started in 1982. Today, Technologies M4 is ready to move from a generic design to a real-world product application. Its E-Wheel Control System integrates Michelin's PAX run-flat technology with a drive and control system (based on a wheel motor) for electric and hybrid vehicles.

"It's a very advanced system that has a very flexible type of configuration," said David Johnston, President of Longueuil, Quebec-based Technologies M4. The system is intended for 2WD or 4WD fuel-cell-powered vehicles; battery, series, and parallel hybrids; buses; light trucks; and recreation vehicles and large trucks as an auxiliary power source. With self-contained electronics, it is capable of instantaneous, full-range torque distribution to each wheel. Independent wheel control in both acceleration and braking is made possible via distributed-control and direct-drive features. The net result is a system that can easily integrate an antilock braking system as well as full skid, traction, and speed control functions.

System revisions since 1994 have reduced the mass of each wheel motor by about 16 kg (35 lb). "This design eliminates the whole transmission, driveshaft, and differential from the vehicle and replaces it completely with the E-Wheel Control System," said Johnston. Prototype production of the electric drive began in the fall of 2000.

- Kami Buchholz

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