Patent ID: 9440502
Filing Date: 2016-09-13
CPC Classification: B60C

Claim Text:
1. A wheel sensing arrangement comprising: a wheel with a pneumatic tire and a rim, the tire and the rim forming a pneumatic chamber; said rim having an offset recessed portion which is offset relative to the center of said rim; a sensor unit located within said pneumatic chamber for sensing a plurality of conditions within said pneumatic tire of said wheel; and a fastener configured to secure said sensor unit to said wheel rim; wherein said sensor unit comprises a housing and an optical infrared sensor having a progressively widening conical field of view defining a circular zone on an inside surface of the tire; whereby temperature values may be derived from said sensor unit that are representative of a surface temperature of said tire; wherein said optical infrared sensor comprises a body and a sensor for sensing temperature of said body in addition to a temperature in the vicinity of said body and an ambient in tire pressure; wherein said body of said optical infrared sensor is at least partly embedded in said housing and the angle of the field of view of said infrared sensor is configurable from viewing directly above said sensor to a relatively offset viewing angle; wherein when said sensor is secured in said offset recessed portion to said rim, said sensor views a central portion of the tread portion of the inside surface of the tire.