Patent ID: 7398186

Claim:
A method of tracking operational parameters of a drive system including first and second members driven respectively by first and second coupling shafts, the method comprising: providing a first sensor unit on the first coupling shaft, the first sensor unit adapted for wireless communication with a remote processing unit, the first sensor unit including an integrated local processor and local memory; providing a second sensor unit on the second coupling shaft, the second sensor unit adapted for wireless communication with the remote processing unit, the second sensor unit including an integrated local processor and local memory; the first sensor unit operating to acquire and store sensor data in its local memory until the first sensor unit receives a data transmit trigger from the remote processing unit; the second sensor unit operating to acquire and store sensor data in its local memory until the second sensor unit receives a data transmit trigger from the remote processing unit; sending a transmit trigger wirelessly from the remote processing unit to the first sensor unit, the first sensor unit responsively wirelessly transmits sensor data to the remote processing unit; sending a transmit trigger wirelessly from the remote processing unit to the second sensor unit, the second sensor unit responsively wirelessly transmits sensor data to the remote processing unit; wherein the sending of the transmit trigger to the second sensor unit is offset in time from the sending of the transmit trigger to the first sensor unit so as to assure that transmission of sensor data from the first sensor unit to the remote processing unit is completed before transmission of sensor data from the second sensor unit to the remote processing unit takes place.