Patent ID: 7557694

Claim:
A vehicle tire wear notification system for warning a driver of low tread depth on the vehicle tires, said tire wear notification system comprising: an annular member embedded beneath an outer surface of the vehicle tire, said annular member being disposed beneath a tread layer of the vehicle tire such that said annular member is prohibited from being exposed to ambient light when the tread layer has a predetermined minimum thickness, said annular member having photo-chromatic properties such that said annular member changes color when exposed to ambient light; means for determining a color of said annular member, said color determining means being in visual communication with said annular member; means for determining a time period after which said annular member has transgressed from a first color to a second color; and a controller housed within a compartment of the vehicle and positioned on a dashboard of the vehicle so that the driver can visually monitor said controller, said controller comprising means for determining a remaining tread depth on the vehicle tire based upon said first color of said annular member and said time period, said tread depth determining means being spaced from the vehicle tire and electrically coupled to a battery of the vehicle and an ignition controller of the vehicle; wherein said tread depth determining means interrupts power between the vehicle battery and the ignition controller respectively when the annular member has color properties exceeding at least one of a threshold color level and a threshold time period respectively.