Apparatus and method for measuring tire thickness
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for measuring tire thickness comprising:
- a patch having a bonding surface securable to a tire inner wall;
at least one range sensor disposed within said patch for generating a signal directed radially outwardly from the tire and sensing a reflection of said signal from an outer surface of said tire, said at least one range sensor having an emitting side substantially flush with said bonding surface;
circuitry means electrically connected to said at least one range sensor for receiving a representation of the time difference between the generated signal and the reflected signal and for generating data representative of said time difference; and
communication means for accepting said data from said circuitry means and communicating said data to a predetermined location.
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Abstract
A reusable patch adhesively bondable to the inside of a tire. Disposed within the patch is at least one sensor that generates a radially outwardly directed signal and senses a reflection thereof from the tire'"'"'s outer surface. Circuitry means is connected to the receiver for receiving data representative of the original and reflected signal and calculating a distance measurement representative of the distance between the sensor and the reflection point. Communication means then transmits the appropriate data to indication means, which triggers an indicator to alert the driver of a tire failure or potential tire failure.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring tire thickness comprising:
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a patch having a bonding surface securable to a tire inner wall; at least one range sensor disposed within said patch for generating a signal directed radially outwardly from the tire and sensing a reflection of said signal from an outer surface of said tire, said at least one range sensor having an emitting side substantially flush with said bonding surface; circuitry means electrically connected to said at least one range sensor for receiving a representation of the time difference between the generated signal and the reflected signal and for generating data representative of said time difference; and communication means for accepting said data from said circuitry means and communicating said data to a predetermined location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for measuring tire thickness comprising:
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providing a system comprising a patch having a bonding surface securable to a tire inner wall; at least one range sensor disposed within said patch for generating a signal directed radially outwardly from said tire and sensing a reflection of said signal from an outer surface of said tire, said at least one range sensor having an emitting side substantially flush with said bonding surface; circuitry means electrically connected to said at least one range sensor for receiving a representation of the time difference between the generated signal and the reflected signal and for generating data representative of said time difference; and communication means for accepting said data from said circuitry means and communicating said data to a predetermined location; generating a signal from inside said tire at a position substantially flush with an inner surface, said signal directed radially outwardly from said tire; sensing a reflection of said signal from said outer surface of said tire; and generating data representative of said time difference between said signal and said reflected signal. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification