P/00/o1l Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: Wheel assembly capable of detecting and displaying wheel conditions The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1A WHEEL ASSEMBLY CAPABLE OF DETECTING AND DISPLAYING WHEEL CONDITIONS The invention relates to a wheel assembly, more particularly to a wheel assembly capable of detecting 5 and displaying wheel conditions. An abnormal tire pressure not only shortens the service life of the tire and increases fuel consumption of the vehicle, but also degrades the brake performance of the vehicle while increasing the risk of flat tires. 10 When tire pressure increases, braking distance increases as well. Therefore, in order to ensure drivingsafety, tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) are increasingly employed in vehicles. In the United States, for example, the National Highway traffic Safety 15 Administration (NHTSA) has requested that all vehicles sold in the United States beginning in the year 2007 are to be equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems in order to effectivelyprevent traffic accidents caused by abnormal tire pressure in vehicles. 20 U.S. Patent No. 7,009,579 discloses mounting of one or more radio frequency devices directly on the wheels (i.e., directly on the wheel rims). Each of the radio frequency devices includes a wireless component and an antenna connected to the wireless component for 25 transmitting and receiving radio signals. In this way, the radio frequency devices can be used as detection devices for detecting tire conditions, such as tire 2 pressure. However, when the wheel rims equipped with the detection devices become damaged and need replacement or it is desired to replace the wheel rims, the detectiondevices embedded intothewheel rims cannot 5 be reused on the new wheel rims, thereby resulting in higher costs. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0074250 discloses mounting of a wireless data detection device on a tire valve of a wheel. In this 10 way, the wireless data detection device can be reused after removal from the wheel when the wheel wears out and needs replacement. However, the wireless data detection device must be removed from the tire valve prior to pumping, thereby resulting in inconvenience 15 during use. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wheel assembly that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art. According to the present invention, a wheel assembly 20 comprises: at least one wheel including a rim, a tire mounted to the rim and cooperating with the rim to define a chamber therebetween, a tire valve provided on the rim and in spatial communication with the chamber, and a detection 25 valve provided on the rim and in spatial communication with the chamber; at least one wheel detecting device including 3 a hollow main casing configured with an inner receiving space and connected detachably to the detection valve of the wheel such that the chamber in the wheel is in spatial communication with the inner 5 receiving space through the detection valve of the wheel, a detecting unit disposed in the inner receiving space in the main casing for detecting conditions in the chamber in the wheel and for generating a detecting signal based on a detection result made thereby, 10 awireless transmittingunitdisposedin theinner receiving space in the main casing, coupled to the detecting unit for receiving the detecting signal therefrom, andgeneratingand transmitting an detecting output based on the detecting signal; and 15 a data receiving device including a housing, a wireless receiving unit disposed in the housing for receiving the detecting output transmitted by the wireless transmitting unit of the wheel detecting 20 device, a controller disposed in the housing, coupled to the wireless receiving unit and receiving the detecting output received by the wireless receiving unit, and a display unit mounted on the housing, coupled 25 to the controller, and controlled by the controller to display thereon information corresponding to the conditions in the chamber in the wheel; 3a wherein said data receiving device further includes a universal serial bus (USB) connecting port provided on said housing, coupled to said controller, and adapted to be connected electrically to an 5 external electronic device such that the detecting output is transmitted from said controller to the external electronic device via said USB connecting port.
4 Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 5 Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the first preferred embodiment of a wheel assembly according to the present invention when applied to a car; Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a wheel and a corresponding wheel detecting device of the first 10 preferred embodiment; Figure 3 is a fragmentary schematic sectional of Figure 2 taken along line III-III; Figure 4 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the first preferred embodiment; 15 Figure 5 is a fragmentary schematic sectional view showing a variation of the first preferred embodiment; Figure 6 is a fragmentary schematic sectional view showing the second preferred embodiment of a wheel assembly according to the present invention; and 20 Figure 7 is a fragmentary schematic sectional view showing the third preferred embodiment of a wheel assembly according to the present invention. Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted 25 by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure. Referring to Figure1, the first preferredembodiment 5 of a wheel assembly according to the present invention is shown to be applied to a car 100, and includes a plurality of wheels 11, a plurality of wheel detecting devices 12, and a data receiving device 13. 5 Referring further to Figures 2 and 3, each wheel 11 includes a rim 111, a tire 112 mounted to the rim 111 and cooperating with the rim 111 to define a chamber 113 therebetween, a tire valve 115 provided on the rim 111 and in spatial communication with the chamber 113, 10 and a detection valve 114 provided on the rim 111 and in spatial communication with the chamber 113. Each of the tire valve 115 and the detection valve 114 has a valve stem 1151, 1141 operable to move between an open position and a normally closed position, as shown in 15 Figure 3. Referring further to Figure 4, the wheel detecting devices 12 correspond respectively to the wheels 11. Each wheel detecting device 12 includes a hollow main casing 121, adetectingunit 122, awireless transmitting 20 unit 123 and a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag 120. For each wheel detecting device 12, the main casing 121 is configured with an inner receiving space 125, and is connected detachably to the detection valve 114 of a corresponding wheel 11 such that the chamber 25 113 in the corresponding wheel 11 is in spatial communication with the inner receiving space 125 through the detection valve 114 of the corresponding wheel 11.
6 In this embodiment, the main casing 121 has a base body 1211 formed with a screw hole 124 permitting extension of the detection valve 114 of the corresponding wheel 11 and engaging threadedly the detection valve 114 of 5 the corresponding wheel 11, a tube body 1212 having opposite open ends, one of which is connectedintegrally to the base body 1211, a capbody 1213 covering sealingly the other one of the open ends of the tube body 1212 and cooperating with the tube body 1212 and the base 10 body 1211 to define the inner receiving space 125 thereamong, and a pressing member 1214 disposed fixedly in the inner receiving space 125 for pressing the valve stem 1141 of the detection valve 114 of the corresponding wheel 11 to move from the closed position to the open 15 position when the main casing 121 is connected to the detection valve 114 of the corresponding wheel 11. As shown in Figure 3, the detecting unit 122 is disposed in the inner receiving space 125 in the main casing 121 for detecting conditions in the chamber 113 in the 20 correspondingwheel 11, i.e., the wheel conditions, such as pressure and temperature in the chamber 113, and for generating a detecting signal basedon a detection result made thereby. The RFID tag 120 is mounted on the rim 111 of the corresponding wheel 11 in this embodiment, 25 and is loaded with identification information corresponding to the corresponding wheel 11, such as date of production, specifications of tire and rim, etc.
7 In other embodiments, the RFID tag 120 can be mounted on the tire 112 of the corresponding wheel 11. The wireless transmitting unit 123 is disposed in the inner receiving space 125 in the main casing 121 (see Figure 5 3) , is coupled to the detecting unit 122 for receiving the detecting signal therefrom, receives the identification information transmitted by the RFID tag 120, and generates andtransmitsadetectingoutput based on the detecting signal and the identification 10 information. As a result, the detecting output generated by the wireless transmitting unit 123 contains the identification information. Figure 5 illustrates a variation of the main casing 121 of each wheel detecting device 12, wherein the base 15 body 1211 of the main casing 121 is partly embedded into the rim 111 of the corresponding wheel 11. The data receiving device 13 includes a housing 131, a wireless receiving unit 132, a controller 135, a displayunit 133, auniversalseriesbus (USB) connecting 20 port 134, and a loudspeaker 136. The wireless receiving unit 132 is disposed in the housing 131 for receiving the detecting output transmitted by the wireless transmitting unit 123 of each wheel detecting device 12. The controller 135 is disposed in the housing 131, 25 is coupled to the wireless receiving unit 132, and receives the detecting output transmitted by the wireless transmitting unit 123 of each wheel detecting 8 device 12 and received by the wireless receiving unit 132. The display unit 133 is mounted on the housing 131, is coupled to the controller 135, and is controlled by the controller 135 to display thereon information 5 corresponding to the conditions in the chamber 113 in eachwheelll. Itisnotedthat, theinformation further includes the identification information of each wheel 11. In this embodiment, the display unit 133 includes a liquid crystal display that is configured to display 10 information corresponding to two of the wheels 11 at a time in a known manner. In other embodiments, the display unit 133 can further include a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs), each controlled by the controller 135 to emit colored light indicative of the 15 conditions in the chamber 113 in a corresponding wheel 11. For example, a blue light may indicate a normal condition, a flashed red light may indicate a caution condition, and a continuous red light may indicate a dangerous condition. The loudspeaker 136 is mounted 20 to the housing 131, and is coupled to the controller 135. The controller 135 enables the loudspeaker 136 to generate an alarm output upon determining that the conditions corresponding to one of the wheels 11 are abnormal, such as abnormal pressure or extremely high 25 temperature, thereby warning the driver of the car 100. The USB connecting port 134 is provided on the housing 131, is coupled to the controller 135, and is adapted 9 to be connected electrically to an external electronic device 200, such as a personal computer. In this embodiment, the data receiving device 13 is capable of storing the detecting outputs from the wheel detecting 5 devices 12 within a time period of about 72 hours using amemory (not shown). Thereafter, thedetecting outputs can be transmitted to the external electronic device 200 via the USB connecting port 134 for storage and analysis purposes. 10 In actual use, when the data receiving device 13 is embodied in a mobile terminal capable of wireless communications, using general packet radio service (GPRS), the detecting outputs in the form of packets can be efficiently transmitted to a center monitoring 15 computer (notshown). Inthisway, real-timemonitoring of the wheels 11 can effectively ensure driving safety. The following are some of the advantages attributed to the wheel assembly of the present invention: 1. The main casing 121 of each wheel detecting device 20 12 is connected detachably to the detection valve 114 of the corresponding wheel. Therefore, when one rim 111 mounted with the wheel detecting device 12 is damaged and needs replacement, or it is desired to replace all the rims 111, the wheel detecting device (s) 12 can be 25 reusedafterdetachment thereof fromtherim111, thereby resulting in lower costs. Furthermore, due to the presence of the tire valve 115 of each wheel 11, pumping 10 of the wheels 11 is relatively convenient as compared to the aforesaid prior art. 2. The detecting outputs from the wheel detecting devices 12 can be transmitted to the external electronic 5 device 200. Therefore, effective integration and utilization of the detecting outputs can prevent occurrence of flat tires, thereby ensuring driving safety. Figure 6 illustrates the second preferred embodiment 10 of a wheel assembly according to this invention, which is a modification of the first preferred embodiment. Ascompared to the firstpreferredembodiment, eachwheel detecting device further includes a bearing 127 sleeved on the tube body 1212 of the main casing 121, and the 15 cap body 1213 of the main casing 121 has an outer surface formed with an engaging groove 1210 adapted to engage a tool (not shown) for detachment of the main casing 121 from the detection valve 114 of the corresponding wheel 11. As a result, when removing the main casing 20 121 from the detection valve 114 of the corresponding wheel 11, the tool is operated to engage the engaging groove 1210 in the main casing 121 and then rotate such that the main casing 11 co-rotates with the tool. In this way, due to the presence of the bearing 127, it 25 is not possible to remove the main casing 121 without the tool, thereby preventing the main casing 121 from inadvertently falling off from the detection valve 114.
11 Figure 7 illustrates the third preferred embodiment of a wheel assembly according to this invention, which is a modification of the first preferred embodiment. As compared to the first preferred embodiment, for each 5 wheel detecting device, the base body 1211 of the main casing 121 has a tubular protrusion 1215 extending toward the rim 111 of the corresponding wheel 11, permits extensionof the detecting valve 114 of the corresponding wheel 11, and has a threaded outer annular surface 1216. 10 Each wheel detecting device further includes a reverse threaded nut 126 sleeved on and engaging threadedly the threaded outer annular surface 1216 of the tubular protrusion 1215. In this way, when removing the main casing 121 from the detection valve 114 of the 15 corresponding wheel 11, the reverse threaded nut 126 must be removed from the tubular protrusion 1215 by means of a tool (not shown) first, and the main casing 121 is then detached from the detection valve 114 of the corresponding wheel 11. Therefore, it is not possible 20 for the main casing 121 to inadvertently fall off from the detection valve 114. For the purpose of this specification, it will be clearly understood that the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to," and that the word 25 "comprises" has a corresponding meaning. It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does 1 2 not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.