Patent ID: 7825819

Claim:
A low-power shock sensing system, comprising: at least one shock sensor physically coupled to a chemical storage tank to be monitored for impacts, wherein the shock sensor comprises at least one mechanically activated sensor coupled to at least one mechanical shock switch having an open and a closed state, the closed state being mechanically initiated by the mechanically activated sensor in response to the mechanically activated sensor receiving a shock greater than a predetermined threshold, and wherein the shock sensor further comprises a linear transducer for generating a shock signal, said shock signal comprising an analog output signal; a comparator for receiving the shock signal and comparing an amplitude of the analog output signal to the predetermined threshold to determine whether the shock signal indicates the shock is greater than the predetermined threshold; an RF transmitter, the RF transmitter being in a low-power idle state in the absence of a triggering signal; and interface circuitry for generating the triggering signal, the interface circuitry activated by the shock switch being in the closed state or the comparator determining the shock signal is greater than the predetermined threshold, wherein an output of the interface circuitry is coupled to an input of the RF transmitter, and wherein the interface circuitry triggers the RF transmitter with the triggering signal to transmit an alarm message to at least one remote location.