Electronic hubodometer
First Claim
1. A wheel-hub mountable odometer comprising:
- an accelerometer comprising sensor means for sensing force, wherein the sensor means are operable to sense a force acting thereon and generate an electrical signal representative of said force sensed by the sensor means, and wherein the signal is proportional to the number of wheel rotations of the wheel and an electronic control system comprising a microcontroller and a power source for interpreting the signal from the accelerometer and calculating wheel rotations;
wherein said microcontroller is programmed with power control means to reduce the power consumed by the electronic system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for counting wheel revolutions are provided that include a wheel-hub mountable odometer comprising an accelerometer comprising sensor means for sensing force, wherein the sensor means are operable to sense a force acting thereon and generate an electrical signal representative of said force. Further an electronic control system is provided comprising a microcontroller and power source, the microcontroller comprising electronic filtering means for attenuating irregularities in the signal from the sensor means and computing a wheel revolution count based on said attenuated signal, and output means for communicating the wheel revolution count. The accelerometer preferably comprises a dual axis electronic accelerometer with no internally rotating parts. Further, the output means preferably comprises at least one of a display means, an IR communication system, or a RF communications system.
55 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A wheel-hub mountable odometer comprising:
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an accelerometer comprising sensor means for sensing force, wherein the sensor means are operable to sense a force acting thereon and generate an electrical signal representative of said force sensed by the sensor means, and wherein the signal is proportional to the number of wheel rotations of the wheel and an electronic control system comprising a microcontroller and a power source for interpreting the signal from the accelerometer and calculating wheel rotations;
wherein said microcontroller is programmed with power control means to reduce the power consumed by the electronic system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An odometer communications system for a wheel-hub mountable odometer comprising:
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an accelerometer comprising sensor means for sensing force, wherein the sensor means are operable to sense a force acting thereon and generate an electrical signal representative of said force sensed by the sensor means, and wherein the signal is proportional to the number of wheel rotations of the wheel; and
an electronic control system comprising a microcontroller and a power source for interpreting the signal from the accelerometer and calculating wheel rotations;
wherein said accelerometer and electronic control system are coupled to an RF communication system comprising an interrogator remote from the wheel, and an RF tag in communication with the microcontroller of the odometer; and
wherein said communication system is operable to communicate odometer information to a remote location. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for counting wheel revolutions comprising:
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attaching an electronic accelerometer to a wheel, the accelerometer comprising sensor means for sensing a force acting on the accelerometer and generating an accelerometer signal comprising an electronic signal proportional to the force; and
providing an electronic control system comprising a microcontroller and a power source functionally connected to the accelerometer, comprising means for converting the accelerometer signal into a wheel revolution count;
providing an RF communication system comprising an interrogator remote from the wheel, and an RF tag in communication with the electronic control system;
wherein the signal generated by the accelerometer is sent to the electronic control system which computes odometer data comprising the wheel revolution count based on the signal from the accelerometer, and said RF communication system communicates said odometer data to a remote location. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An odometer communications system for a wheel-hub mountable odometer comprising:
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an accelerometer comprising sensor means for sensing force, wherein the sensor means are operable to sense a force acting thereon and generate an electrical signal representative of said force sensed by the sensor means, and wherein the signal is proportional to the number of wheel rotations of the wheel; and
an electronic control system comprising a microcontroller and a power source for interpreting the signal from the accelerometer and calculating wheel rotations;
wherein said accelerometer and electronic control system are coupled to a communication system operable to communicate odometer information to a remote location, and wherein said communication system further comprises means to communicate instructions from a remote location to the odometer. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification