Vehicle manufacturers evaluating TRW’s ‘cost competitive' TPMS system

US motor industry supplier TRM Automotive Holdings reports its zero initiator tyre pressure monitoring system – a product the company refers to as “its lowest cost auto location system ever” –recently entered mass production and is now under evaluation with global vehicle manufacturers. Announcing the new product’s rollout, Laurent Crosnier, product portfolio director for TRW Radio Frequency Electronics, commented that “TRW seeks to bring cost competitive systems to market in our effort to deliver the safety that everyone deserves, and affirms its TPMS technological leadership with this innovative new product launch.”

As is the case with TRW’s current direct TPMS systems, the technology used in the new system includes four wheel-mounted sensors to directly monitor the individual tyre pressure levels. In the new system, however, the electronic initiators previously used to locate the sensor positions are no longer necessary. “The zero initiator system is an example of smart thinking that reduces part count and complexity, and still delivers the performance of a direct tyre pressure monitoring system with the capability to automatically identify which tyre or tyres are under inflated and pose a potential safety risk,” Crosnier added.

Elaborating on the technology employed in the zero initiator system, TRW explains that the receiver is typically mounted under the rear of the vehicle or in the rear bumper area, and can determine front and rear sensor locations by comparing the received signal strengths.  Left and right side sensor locations are determined by sensing and processing the Earth’s gravitational and magnetic fields. Thus, by combining the front/rear and left/right information, the system can determine which tyre is under-inflated without the need for any initiators.