Tire tread wear sensor system
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring wear of a vehicle part, comprising:
- a user interface;
at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) tag with unique identification embedded in the part at a depth indicative of a worn part;
an RF tag reader that can periodically monitor signals from the at least one RFID tag; and
a controller coupled to the RF tag reader and user interface, wherein if the RF tag reader fails to obtain any signals from the at least one RFID tag, indicating a destroyed RFID tag, the controller can direct the user interface to warn a user of the vehicle that the part containing that RFID tag is worn.
3 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for monitoring belt wear or tread wear of a tire includes at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) tag with unique identification embedded in the belt or tread of the tire at one or more wear points. An RF tag reader periodically monitoring signals from the at least one RFID tag. If the RF tag reader fails to obtain any signals from the at least one RFID tag, indicating a destroyed RFID tag, the user can be warned about a wear problem of that belt or tire. RFID tags can be distributed at different depths of the tire(s), or across the tread at the same depth, of the tire(s) to determine different wear problems. The same RFID tag can also be used for inventory tracking purposes.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring wear of a vehicle part, comprising:
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a user interface;
at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) tag with unique identification embedded in the part at a depth indicative of a worn part;
an RF tag reader that can periodically monitor signals from the at least one RFID tag; and
a controller coupled to the RF tag reader and user interface, wherein if the RF tag reader fails to obtain any signals from the at least one RFID tag, indicating a destroyed RFID tag, the controller can direct the user interface to warn a user of the vehicle that the part containing that RFID tag is worn. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for monitoring tread wear of a tire of a vehicle, comprising:
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a user interface in the vehicle;
a clock in the vehicle;
a mileage indicator in the vehicle;
a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags with unique identification embedded in the tread of each tire;
an RF tag reader located in a vehicle carrying the tire, the RF tag reader can periodically monitor signals from the plurality of RFID tags; and
a controller coupled to the clock, mileage indicator, RF tag reader and user interface, wherein if the RF tag reader fails to obtain any signals from the at least one RFID tag, indicating a destroyed RFID tag, the controller determines if there is a problem and then directs the user interface to warn a user of the vehicle that the tire containing that RFID tag is experiencing a problem. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for monitoring tread wear of a tire of a vehicle that includes a user interface, clock, and mileage indicator, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags with unique identification embedded in the tread of each tire;
periodically monitoring signals from the plurality of RFID tags;
detecting when an RFID tag fails to send any more signals, indicating a destroyed RFID tag;
determining if the failed RFID tag indicates a problem; and
warning a user of the vehicle of the problem. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification