Patent ID: 7412898

Claim:
An apparatus for wireless sensing of applied load, comprising: an elongate body with first and second ends; a bore extending within the body from the first end; a grounding pin positioned within the bore and rigidly attached to the body within the bore at a point distal to the first end of the body, wherein the grounding pin moves with the body when the body is elongated while the grounding pin remains substantially constant in length; and a wireless transponder mounted proximate the first end of the body and exposed to the bore, the wireless transponder responding to a radio frequency signal from a transmitter by generating a response signal, wherein the grounding pin contacts and grounds the wireless transponder to stop the generating of the response signal when a tensile load that is less than a preset minimum tensile load is applied to the apparatus and wherein the body has a length when the applied tensile load is at least about the minimum tensile load value such that the grounding pin is spaced apart from the wireless transponder.