Patent ID: 7528707

Claim:
A spare tire pressure monitoring system, comprising: (a) a detection mechanism including: (1) a connecting mechanism structured to be releasably connectable to a valve stem of a spare tire and to establish fluid communication with air contained in the spare tire, (2) a selection mechanism structured to enable a user to select a desired air pressure to be contained in the spare tire, (3) a sensing device structured to operably measure air pressure contained in the spare tire, and (4) a transmitter unit structured to responsively transmit first signals corresponding to the air pressure contained in the spare tire and second signals corresponding to the desired air pressure; (b) a monitoring unit including: (1) a control mechanism, (2) a receiving unit connected in communication with the control mechanism and structured to responsively receive the first and second signals transmitted by the transmitter unit, (3) a communication link operably connecting the receiving unit to the transmitter unit, (4) a display unit connected in communication with the control mechanism and structured to display the desired air pressure, (5) a discriminator mechanism connected in communication with the control mechanism and structured to determine the difference between the desired air pressure and the air pressure contained in the spare tire, and (6) an alerting mechanism connected in communication with the control mechanism, the alerting mechanism being activated by the control mechanism when the difference, between the desired air pressure and the actual air pressure contained in the spare tire, as determined by the discriminator mechanism, varies from a certain predetermined amount; and (c) an energy source structured to supply electrical energy to various components of the spare tire pressure monitoring system as needed.