TRW Unveils New Hybrid Tire Pressure Monitoring System
WUESCHHEIM, Germany, Oct. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (NYSE: TRW) has developed its next generation tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) – a hybrid system which uses a combination of sensing technologies to provide automatic location functionality.
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The system uses basic, wheel-mounted direct TPMS sensors to measure the pressure and temperature of the air inside a tire, and combines this with data from a vehicle's ABS or ESC wheel speed sensors to provide an auto-location function and notify the driver which tire or tires may have low pressure.
Martin Thoone, vice president, electronics engineering at TRW said: "Our new hybrid system has the advantage of a premium auto-location system, but eliminates the need for the additional electronics hardware previously required to locate the sensor positions. Furthermore, the receiver can be located inside the vehicle which enables us to reduce housing costs – and therefore makes this our most affordable auto-location system yet."
Like TRW's current direct TPMS (dTPMS) systems, the technology includes four basic wheel-mounted sensors to directly monitor the individual tire pressure levels, but eliminates the need for the electronic initiators previously required to locate the sensor positions. The receiver is typically mounted in the passenger compartment, and can identify tire locations by correlating data from the TPMS sensors and the vehicle's ABS/ ESC sensors.
Thoone concluded: "Although we support customers with indirect TPMS systems, at TRW we believe that direct TPMS is the best technical solution for both tire safety and to help reduce CO2 emissions and improve fuel consumption. With this market set to grow over the next five to ten years due to impending or potential regulations in Europe and Asia, we will continue to develop our dTPMS technology portfolio to offer a more affordable solution for our customers. Our new Hybrid TPMS technology is an important step in this direction."
TRW anticipates that its hybrid TPMS will be ready for production in 2013.
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About TRW
With 2010 sales of $14.4 billion, TRW Automotive ranks among the world's leading automotive suppliers. Headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, USA, the Company, through its subsidiaries, operates in 26 countries and employs over 60,000 people worldwide. TRW Automotive products include integrated vehicle control and driver assist systems, braking systems, steering systems, suspension systems, occupant safety systems (seat belts and airbags), electronics, engine components, fastening systems and aftermarket replacement parts and services. All references to "TRW Automotive", "TRW" or the "Company" in this press release refer to TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. and its subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated. TRW Automotive news is available on the internet at www.trw.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains statements that are not statements of historical fact, but instead are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements, including those set forth in our Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 (our "Form 10-K"), and our reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended April 1 and July 1, 2011, such as: any developments related to antitrust investigations adversely affecting our results, cash flows, financial condition or reputation; tighter financial markets adversely impacting the availability and cost of credit negatively affecting our business; a material contraction in automotive sales and production adversely affecting our results or the viability of our supply base; commodity inflationary pressures adversely affecting our profitability or supply base; strengthening of the U.S. dollar and other foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations impacting our results; pricing pressures from our customers adversely affecting our profitability; any shortage of supplies causing a production disruption; increasing costs negatively impacting our profitability; the loss of any of our largest customers materially adversely affecting us; costs of product liability, warranty and recall claims and efforts by customers to adversely alter contract terms and conditions concerning warranty and recall participation; costs or liabilities relating to environmental, health and safety regulations adversely affecting our results; risks associated with non-U.S. operations, including economic and political uncertainty in some regions, adversely affecting our business, results or financial condition; any inability to protect our intellectual property rights adversely affecting our business or our competitive position; any increase in the expense of our pension and other postretirement benefits or the funding requirements of our pension plans reducing our profitability; work stoppages or other labor issues at our facilities or at the facilities of our customers or suppliers adversely affecting our operations; volatility in our annual effective tax rate resulting from a change in our valuation allowances position or other factors; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in our Form 10-K and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any update or revision to any of the forward-looking statements.
SOURCE TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.
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