Orientation-based wireless sensing apparatus
First Claim
1. An orientation-based wireless sensing apparatus, comprising:
- a body formed of material invisible to RF transmissions and mounted on a component desired to be monitored for its orientation relative to earth'"'"'s gravitational pull (the direction of gravity);
an accelerometer within the body for measuring relative to at least a first axis of the direction of gravity;
a microprocessor within the body and connected to the accelerometer;
a transmitter within the body and connected to the microprocessor;
a power source within the body and connected to the accelerometer, microprocessor and transmitter; and
an antenna mounted within the body and connected to the transmitter.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An orientation-based wireless sensor includes a transmitter unit having a body housing a microprocessor, a transmitter, and an accelerometer for detecting the orientation of the transmitter unit relative to one-, two- or three-axis of the direction of the pull of earth'"'"'s gravity. The transmitter body is mounted on a feature of a vehicle that it is desirable to monitor. The transmitter will transmit orientation data at predetermined time intervals to a receiver on the vehicle, which will in turn process the information, adding additional information, such as GPS location, and wirelessly send the data to a database that is available to a customer over the Internet.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An orientation-based wireless sensing apparatus, comprising:
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a body formed of material invisible to RF transmissions and mounted on a component desired to be monitored for its orientation relative to earth'"'"'s gravitational pull (the direction of gravity); an accelerometer within the body for measuring relative to at least a first axis of the direction of gravity; a microprocessor within the body and connected to the accelerometer; a transmitter within the body and connected to the microprocessor; a power source within the body and connected to the accelerometer, microprocessor and transmitter; and an antenna mounted within the body and connected to the transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. In combination:
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a vehicle having at least one operable feature that it is desired to monitor, the operable feature including at least one component that moves between first and second positions; and an orientation-based wireless sensing apparatus mounted on the vehicle and positioned to monitor the operable feature and transmit a physical orientation of the component relative to earth'"'"'s direction of gravity, thereby indicating a position of the component, comprising; a receiver unit mounted on the vehicle and operable to receive transmitted data packets from at least one transmitter unit on the vehicle and to wirelessly transmit data packets to a remote database for storage and further processing and transmission; and a transmitter unit mounted on the component and including; a body attached to the component and formed of material invisible to RF transmissions; an accelerometer within the body for measuring relative to at least a first axis of the direction of gravity; a microprocessor within the body and connected to the accelerometer; a transmitter within the body and connected to the microprocessor; a power source within the body and connected to the accelerometer, microprocessor and transmitter; and an antenna mounted within the housing body and connected to the transmitter; said microprocessor operable to receive orientation data relative to the component from the accelerometer, process the information, and transmit the processed information as a data packet through the transmitter to the receiver unit. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. In combination:
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a vehicle having a plurality of operable features that it is desired to monitor, each operable feature including at least one component that moves between first and second positions; and an orientation-based wireless sensing apparatus mounted on the vehicle and operable to monitor the operable features and transmit a physical orientation of each component relative to the first and second positions, comprising; a single receiver unit mounted on the vehicle and operable to receive transmitted data packets from a plurality of transmitter units on the vehicle and to wirelessly transmit data packets to a remote database for storage and further processing and transmission; and a plurality of transmitter units mounted on the vehicle, one transmitter unit mounted on each operable component of each monitored feature, each transmitter unit including; a body attached to the component and formed of material invisible to RF transmissions; an accelerometer within the body for measuring relative to at least a first axis of the direction of gravity, to thereby determine the orientation of the component; a microprocessor within the body and connected to the accelerometer; a transmitter within the body and connected to the microprocessor; a power source within the body and connected to the accelerometer, microprocessor and transmitter; and an antenna mounted within the body and connected to the transmitter; said microprocessor operable to receive orientation data relative to the component from the accelerometer, process the information, and transmit the processed information as a data packet through the transmitter to the receiver unit; each transmitter unit having a unique identification code associated therewith, and each transmitter microprocessor programmed to transmit the identification code as part of the data packet transmitted to the receiver unit; and said receiver unit microprocessor including a database of the identification codes of each of the transmitter units on the vehicle, and operable to monitor and process only those data packets received from designated transmitters. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification