Claims:STATEMENT OF CLAIMS
We claim:
1. A method for detecting a fault in a valve of a tyre in a vehicle (104), the method comprising
collecting data related to a valve of at least one tyre present in the vehicle (104) by a tyre monitor (101), wherein the collected data comprises of current pressure in the tyre;
communicating the collected data by the tyre monitor (101) to a controller (102);
determining a rate of change of pressure in the at least one tyre over time by the controller (102), using the collected data;
checking if there is a variance between the determined rate of change of pressure and a baseline rate of change of pressure by the controller (102);
checking if the variation is greater than a pre-defined threshold by the controller (102), if there is a variation;
determining that the valve is faulty by the controller (102), if the variance is greater than a threshold; and
performing at least one pre-configured action by the controller (102).
2. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pre-configured action comprises of at least one of providing an alert, displaying the received data using a display (103), and storing the collected data.
3. The method, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the variance can be at least one of a positive variance; and a negative variance.
4. A system for detecting a fault in a valve of a tyre in a vehicle (104), the system comprising
a tyre monitor (101) configured for
collecting data related to a valve of at least one tyre present in the vehicle (104), wherein the collected data comprises of current airflow rate; and
communicating the collected data to a controller (102); and
the controller (102) configured for
determining a rate of change of pressure in the at least one tyre over time, using the collected data;
checking if there is a variance between the determined rate of change of pressure and a baseline rate of change of pressure;
checking if the variation is greater than a pre-defined threshold, if there is a variation;
determining that the valve is faulty, if the variance is greater than a threshold; and
performing at least one pre-configured action.
5. The system, as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pre-configured action comprises of at least one of providing an alert, displaying the received data using a display (103), and storing the collected data.

Dated this 30th of January 2017
Signature:
Name of the Signatory: Somashekar Ramakrishna
, Description:DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0010] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0011] The embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for detecting faults in a valve in at least one tyre present in the vehicle. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 3, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown preferred embodiments.
[0012] The vehicle as referred to herein can be any vehicle comprising of at least one tyre with at least one valve. Examples of the vehicle as referred to herein can be but not limited to cars, vans, trucks, trailers, buses, tractors, scooters, motorcycles, bicycles, and so on. Embodiments herein are explained using a vehicle comprising of four wheels, but it may be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that embodiments herein may be implemented for any vehicle comprising of at least one wheel/tyre.
[0013] Each tyre can comprise of a valve, wherein the valve can enable tyre to be filled into the tyre. The valve can further prevent air from leaking out of the tyre. The valve can also keep foreign particles such as dust, grime, water, and so on, from entering the tyre. The valve typically comprises of a valve stem into which a valve core is threaded.
[0014] FIGs. 1a, 1b and 1c depict a plurality of tyre monitors and a controller in a vehicle for monitoring the valves. A tyre monitor 101 can be present at each tyre of the vehicle 104, such that each tyre monitor 101 can monitor the pressure in the tyre. The tyre monitors 101 can communicate the measured pressure to a controller 102. The tyre monitors 101 can communicate with the controller 102 using at least one of a wired means (such as a bus, CAN (Controller Area Network) bus, and so on) or a wireless means (such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi, cellular communication networks, radio frequency communication means, and so on).
[0015] In an embodiment, the controller 102 can be present inside the vehicle 104 (as depicted in FIG. 1a). In an embodiment, the controller 102 can be integrated with an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) present in the vehicle. In an embodiment herein, the controller 102 can be an independent module. In an embodiment herein, the controller 102 can be integrated with a tyre monitor 101 (as depicted in FIG. 1b). In an embodiment herein, the controller 102 can be present external to the vehicle 104 (as depicted in FIG. 1c). In an example, the controller 102 can be present in a device belonging to a user of the vehicle 104 (such as a mobile phone, smart phone, tablet, computer, wearable computing device, a security system of the vehicle 104, and so on). In an example, the controller 102 can be a dedicated module present external to the vehicle 104.
[0016] The controller 102 can communicate with other entities such as vehicle systems (such as the infotainment systems, instrument cluster, dashboard systems, ECU, and so on), user devices, data servers, application servers, the cloud, or any other device as configured by the user or any other authorized person. The controller 102 can also communicate with at least one display 103. In an embodiment herein, the display 103 can be a dedicated display. In an embodiment herein, the display 103 can be at least one of an infotainment system present in the vehicle 104, the instrument cluster 105, a user device (such as a mobile device, mobile phone, smart phone, tablet, computer, laptop, wearable computing device, and so on).
[0017] FIG. 2 depicts the controller. The controller 102, as depicted, comprises of a Valve Management Module (VMM) 201, a memory 202, and a communication interface 203. The memory 202 can be at least one of a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. The memory 202 can be present internally to the controller 102. The memory 202 can be present in another system present in the vehicle 103, such as the Electronic Control Unit (ECU), and the controller 102 can store and access data from the memory 202. The memory 202 can comprise of data such as a baseline rate of change of pressure over time for a tyre (when air is being filled into the tyre), pressure data, temperature data, user configurations, and so on. The a baseline rate of change of pressure over time for a tyre can be configured for each tyre from the factory, and can depend on factors such as sixe of tyre, type of valve, and so on. The memory 202 can comprise of information received from the tyre monitor 101. The memory 202 can comprise of results of operations performed by the VMM 201. The memory 202 can comprise of time stamps of the received information.
[0018] The communication interface 202 can enable the controller 102 to communicate with at least one external entity. Examples of the external entity can be but not limited to the tyre monitors 101, the display 103, the vehicle systems (such as the infotainment systems, instrument clusters, dashboard systems, ECU, and so on), user device(s), data servers, application servers, the cloud, or any other device as configured by the user or any other authorized person.
[0019] The VMM 201 can receive the data collected by the tyre monitor 101 related to the valve, using the communication interface 202. The data can comprise of the current pressure inside the tyre. The tyre monitor 101 can provide the data to the VMM 201 on at least one pre-defined event occurring, such as air being filled into the tyre. The tyre monitor 101 can provide the data to the VMM 201 at pre-defined intervals. The VMM 201 can display the received data using the display 103.
[0020] In an embodiment herein, the VMM 201 can determine the rate of change of pressure in the tyre over time, using the data received from the tyre monitor 101. The VMM 201 can compare the determined rate of change of pressure with the baseline rate of change of pressure (as stored in the memory 202) to check if there is a variance between the determined rate of change of pressure and the baseline rate of change of pressure. The variation can be at least one of a positive variance or a negative variance. If there is a variation, the VMM 201 checks if the variation is greater than a pre-defined threshold. If the variation is greater than the pre-defined threshold, the VMM 201 can determine that the valve is faulty and can take at least one pre-defined action, such as providing an alert(using at least one of a user device, an infotainment system present in the vehicle 104, the dashboard system, warning light(s), an audio alert, and so on), displaying using the display 103,storing the alert and related data in a pre-configured location (such as at least one of the memory 202, the application server, the data server, the cloud, at least one user device, and so on), and so on.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a process for detecting faults in a valve of a tyre. The VMM 201 receives (301) the data collected by the tyre monitor 101 using the communication interface 202, wherein the data can comprise of current pressure inside the tyre, on at least one of pre-defined event occurring or at pre-defined intervals. The VMM 201 determines (302) the rate of change of pressure in the tyre over time, using the data received from the tyre monitor 101. The VMM 201 checks (303) if there is a variance between the determined rate of change of pressure and the baseline rate of change of pressure by comparing the determined rate of change of pressure with the baseline rate of change of pressure (as stored in the memory 202). If there is a variation, the VMM 201 checks (304) if the variation is greater than a pre-defined threshold. If the variation is greater than the pre-defined threshold, the VMM 201 determines (305) that the valve is faulty and takes (306) at least one pre-defined action, such as providing an alert, displaying the data using the display 103,storing the alert and related data in the pre-configured location, and so on. The various actions in method 300 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 3 may be omitted.
[0022] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the network elements. The elements shown in Figs. 1 and 2 include blocks, which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module.
[0023] The embodiment disclosed herein describes methods and systems for detecting faults in a valve in at least one tyre present in the vehicle. Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to such a program and in addition to a computer readable means having a message therein, such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation of one or more steps of the method, when the program runs on a server or mobile device or any suitable programmable device. The method is implemented in a preferred embodiment through or together with a software program written in e.g. Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) another programming language, or implemented by one or more VHDL or several software modules being executed on at least one hardware device. The hardware device can be any kind of portable device that can be programmed. The device may also include means which could be e.g. hardware means like e.g. an ASIC, or a combination of hardware and software means, e.g. an ASIC and an FPGA, or at least one microprocessor and at least one memory with software modules located therein. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented partly in hardware and partly in software. Alternatively, the invention may be implemented on different hardware devices, e.g. using a plurality of CPUs.
[0024] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.