US 2,006,025,897 · Filed 2005-08-22
The Wireless Tire Sensor That Talks Back When Asked
Imagine a tiny computer chip living inside your car tire that can measure temperature and pressure, but it only wakes up and reports data when your car sends it a special radio signal. That's what this sensor does—it sleeps to save battery, then springs to life when needed to transmit real-time tire health info wirelessly.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a sensor assembly that combines an antenna, an RFID chip, a physical sensor (like a temperature or pressure gauge), and a smart switch wired together. What's protected here is the specific architecture where the RFID device acts as a gatekeeper—it listens for a particular radio signal, and only when it hears the right one does it flip a switch to connect the sensor into the antenna circuit so measurements can be transmitted. No unauthorized copy can use this exact switching logic without infringing.
Why it matters
This patent bridges two worlds: real-time vehicle diagnostics and ultra-low-power wireless communication. By combining RFID's ability to wake on demand with direct sensor measurement, the design solves a critical problem in automotive safety—tire failure remains a leading cause of accidents, and monitoring pressure and temperature continuously would drain batteries, so this selective-activation approach lets tire sensors report data only when the vehicle queries them, balancing safety with efficiency.
Real-world use
Every time your car's onboard computer checks tire pressure and temperature wirelessly without you plugging in a gauge, a sensor like this one is receiving the wake-up signal, taking its measurement, and beaming the data back through the air.
Original USPTO abstract
Sensor assembly capable of obtaining and providing a measurement of a physical quantity, e.g., measurement of temperature and/or pressure of a vehicular tire, includes an antenna capable of receiving a radio frequency signal, a radio frequency identification (RFID) device coupled to the antenna, a sensor coupled to the RFID device arranged to generate a measurement of the physical quantity or quantities, and a switch coupled to the RFID device and arranged to connect or disconnect the sensor from a circuit with the antenna dependent on whether the antenna receives a particular signal associated with the RFID device. When the antenna receives the particular signal associated with the RFID device, the RFID device causes the switch to close and connect the sensor in the circuit with the antenna to enable the measurement generated by the sensor to be directed to and transmitted by the antenna.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 2,006,025,897
- Filing date
- 2005-08-22
- Grant date
- Application — not yet granted
- Assignee
- Shostak Oleksandr T / Kolomeyko Anatoliy V / Breed David S / Duvall Wilbur E / Johnson Wendell C
- Inventor(s)
- SHOSTAK OLEKSANDR T., KOLOMEYKO ANATOLIY V., BREED DAVID S., DUVALL WILBUR E., JOHNSON WENDELL C.
- CPC class
- G08G1/017
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