Patent ID: 6469638
Filing Date: 2002-10-22
Classification: G07C,H04M

Abstract:
In a mining vehicle monitoring system having a base radio for communication with mining vehicles having respective vehicle-to-base radios disposed thereon, an intra-vehicle communication system, comprising:a status signal source, disposed on a given mining vehicle at a location different from the vehicle-to-base radio of said given vehicle, for producing a status signal representing the status of some portion of said given vehicle; a status radio transmitter, disposed on said given mining vehicle proximate said status signal source, for receiving said status signal and transmitting an intra-vehicle radio signal representative of said status; a localized power source for generating power for said status radio transmitter from mechanical motion of a portion of the mining vehicle; and a status radio receiver, disposed on said given vehicle proximate the vehicle-to-base radio of said given vehicle, for receiving said intra-vehicle radio signal and providing to the vehicle-to-base radio of said given mining vehicle a signal representing a status.