Wireless, solar-powered, pavement temperature sensor
First Claim
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1. A self-contained roadway temperature monitoring module, comprising:
- (a) a housing comprising a block of light-transmissive material having a top surface, a bottom surface and a side surface of a predetermined height dimension, the bottom surface having a cavity formed therein;
(b) a solar cell array disposed in the cavity proximate the top surface for producing an electrical potential at a pair of output terminals;
(c) a microprocessor disposed in the cavity at a location between the solar cell array and the bottom surface, the microprocessor having a plurality of data input terminals;
(d) an RF transmitter disposed in the cavity and coupled to receive output signals from the microprocessor;
(e) means coupling the output terminals of the solar cell array to the microprocessor and to the RF transmitter; and
(f) a plurality of temperature sensing elements embedded in said block proximate the side surface, the temperature sensing elements being electrically coupled to said data input terminals of the microprocessor.
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Abstract
An improved roadway temperature monitoring system is designed to be powered by solar energy for measuring and transmitting sensed roadway surface temperatures over a wireless link to remote workstations comprises a module housing fabricated from a light-transmissive, thermally conductive tough plastic for containing a solar cell array, a microprocessor, a spread spectrum RF transmitter, a plurality of temperature sensing elements and a battery supply therefor whose charge is maintained by the solar cell array.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A self-contained roadway temperature monitoring module, comprising:
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(a) a housing comprising a block of light-transmissive material having a top surface, a bottom surface and a side surface of a predetermined height dimension, the bottom surface having a cavity formed therein;
(b) a solar cell array disposed in the cavity proximate the top surface for producing an electrical potential at a pair of output terminals;
(c) a microprocessor disposed in the cavity at a location between the solar cell array and the bottom surface, the microprocessor having a plurality of data input terminals;
(d) an RF transmitter disposed in the cavity and coupled to receive output signals from the microprocessor;
(e) means coupling the output terminals of the solar cell array to the microprocessor and to the RF transmitter; and
(f) a plurality of temperature sensing elements embedded in said block proximate the side surface, the temperature sensing elements being electrically coupled to said data input terminals of the microprocessor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification