Transponder system for reporting the distance traveled by a wheeled vehicle

A system for obtaining driving distance information from a wheeled vehicle, comprising:

• a radio frequency (RF) exciter/receiver remotely positioned away from the wheeled vehicle for transmitting an RF interrogation signal,
• a sensor mounted to a wheel of the wheeled vehicle, said sensor sensing rotations of said wheel to provide a sensor signal that is indicative of the distance traveled by said vehicle,
• a radio frequency (RF) transponder mounted to and rotating with said wheel, said transponder energized by said RF interrogation signal, wherein said transponder is connected to receive said sensor signal and to transmit a transponder signal to a remote location away from said wheeled vehicle, wherein said transponder signal corresponds to said sensor signal and is detectable by said exciter/receiver when the exciter/receiver is in communication with the wheel.

A system for obtaining driving distance information from a wheeled vehicle, comprising:

• a radio frequency (RF) exciter/receiver remotely positioned away from the wheeled vehicle for transmitting an RF interrogation signal,
• a sensor mounted to a wheel of the wheeled vehicle, said wheel having a rotational hub and said sensor sensing rotations of said wheel to provide a sensor signal that is indicative of the distance traveled by said vehicle,
• a radio frequency (RF) transponder including an antenna coil that is mounted to and rotates with said hub, said transponder energized by said RF interrogation signal, wherein said transponder is connected to receive said sensor signal and to transmit a transponder signal to a remote location away from said wheeled vehicle, wherein said transponder signal corresponds to said sensor signal and is detectable by said exciter/receiver when the exciter/receiver is in communication with the wheel.

A transponder system for communicating information concerning the number of rotations experienced by a rotating structure, comprising:

• a sensor that includes a mounting mechanism for mounting the sensor to the rotating structure to rotate with the rotating structure,
• said sensor providing a sensor signal that is indicative of the rotations of the rotating structure to which it is mounted, and
• a radio frequency (RF) transponder including an antenna coil that is mountable to the rotating structure to which said sensor is mounted, said transponder energized by an RF interrogation signal, wherein said transponder is connected to receive said sensor signal, said transponder transmitting a transponder signal to a remote location away from said rotating structure, wherein said transponder signal corresponds to said sensor signal.