US 12,007,470 B2
Sensor auto-location using phased antenna array beamforming
Ravindra P. Singh, Antrim (GB); Jonathan E. Barr, Magherafelt (GB); and A. Tugay Arslan, Antrim (GB)
Assigned to SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Attleboro, MA (US)
Filed by SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Attleboro, MA (US)
Filed on Jan. 21, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/580,822.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/140,582, filed on Jan. 22, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0236405 A1, Jul. 28, 2022
Int. Cl. B60C 23/00 (2006.01); G01S 13/76 (2006.01); H01Q 3/26 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 13/767 (2013.01) [G01S 13/765 (2013.01); H01Q 3/267 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of sensor auto-location using phased antenna array beamforming, the method comprising:
storing, for each of a plurality of tire placement directions, a vehicle-specific antenna activation sequence corresponding to the tire placement direction;
storing, for each of the plurality of tire placement directions, one or more predefined ranges for one or more signal attributes, the one or more predefined ranges corresponding to the tire placement direction and including at least a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) range;
steering a radio frequency (RF) signal beam towards a given tire placement direction of a vehicle by activating two or more antennas of an antenna array in accordance with the antenna activation sequence corresponding to the tire placement direction;
receiving, in response to the RF signal beam, an acknowledgement from a sensor, the acknowledgement indicating one or more signal attribute values, the one or more signal attribute values including at least an RSSI value determined by the sensor;
determining whether one or more signal attribute values indicated in the acknowledgement are within the one or more predefined ranges for the one or more signal attributes and corresponding to the given tire placement direction, including determining whether the RSSI value is within the RSSI range for the given tire placement direction; and
determining, in response to the one or more signal attribute values being within the one or more predefined ranges, that the sensor is fitted on the given tire placement direction.