Method and apparatus for associating tires with tire locations of a vehicle

1. An apparatus for associating tires with tire locations of a vehicle, said apparatus comprising:

two sensors, each sensor having an associated tire, each sensor transmitting an associated sensor identification in response to receipt of an interrogation signal;

means for providing said interrogation signal to cause said two sensors to transmit at different rates; and

control means responsive to reception rates of identification signals transmitted from the sensors for associating each sensor with a tire location and thereby associating the tires with tire locations of the vehicle.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for providing said interrogation signal includes an interrogation antenna mounted relative to said two sensors at non-equal distances.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said control means associates sensor location, and thereby, tire location, in response to a number of transmitted sensor identifications received from each of said two sensors.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said rate of sensor transmission is responsive to tire rotation.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said means for providing interrogation signals further includes means for alternating signal strength of said interrogation signal over time, and wherein said control means associates sensor location, and, in turn, tire location, with a number of transmitted sensor identifications received from each of said two sensors.

6. A method for associating tires with tire locations of a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:

providing two sensors, each sensor having an associated tire;

transmitting an associated sensor identification from each sensor in response to receipt of an interrogation signal;

providing the interrogation signal to cause the two sensors to transmit at different rates;

providing the interrogation sign that the two sensors transmit at different rates;

receiving the transmitted identification signals; and

associating each sensor with a tire location in response to a reception rate of received identification signals and thereby associating the tires with tire locations of the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said step of providing the interrogation signal includes mounting an interrogation antenna relative to the two sensors at non-equal distances.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said step of associating sensor location, and thereby, tire location, is response to a number of transmitted sensor identifications received from each of the two sensors.

9. The method claim 8 wherein the rate of sensor transmission is responsive to tire rotation.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein said step of providing interrogation signals further includes the step of alternating signal strength of the interrogation signal over time, and wherein said step of associating sensor location, and, in turn, tire location, is responsive to a number of transmitted sensor identifications received from each of the two sensors.

11. An apparatus for associating tires with tire locations of a vehicle, said apparatus comprising:

first and second sensors, each of said first and second sensors having an associated tire and transmitting associated signals in response to receipt of interrogation signals;

means for providing said interrogation signals so that said interrogation signals are received by said first sensor at a first rate and are received by said second sensor at a second rate that is different from the first rate, said first sensor being responsive to said interrogation signals for transmitting its associated signals at the first rate and said second sensor being responsive to said interrogation signals for transmitting its associated signals at the second rate; and

control means responsive to reception rates of said associated signals transmitted by said first and second sensors for associating said first and second sensors with tire locations and thereby associating the tires with tire locations of the vehicle.