Large truck remote wheel trouble warning system

In a large vehicle having a closed cab, a trailer with an underside and at least one set of wheels mounted on the underside of the vehicle remote from the cab by a distance such as to make the hearing of abnormal noises in or about said wheels by a person in the cab difficult or impossible, such set of remote wheels including at least one wheel on either siide of the trailer, the improvement comprising;

• only one conventional sound sensitive microphone for picking up airborne sound waves in the range of human hearing;
• means for mounting said microphone at the underside of the vehicle at only one location and in such a manner so as to be able to pick up sound carried by the air from the remote wheels, including the remote wheels on either side of the trailer, said mounting means including means for substantially damping out mechanical vibrations received from the vehicle, and said mounting means being aligned along the approximate center line of the vehicle and about eight to twelve feet forward of the remote wheels;
• communication means connected to said microphone, said communication means being secured so as to serve to communicate signals developed by said microphone to said cab;
• means mounted inside the enclosed cab for receiving signals from said communication means, and responsive to those signals received from said communication means for alerting the driver to unusual airborne sounds picked up by said microphone;
• and wherein said alerting means mounted inside the enclosed cab includes a conventional speaker for substantially reproducing the airborne sound waves within the range of human hearing which are picked up by said microphone.