"Tire Pressure Sensor Mounting Apparatus and Method" in Patent Application Approval Process
Lindsay CorporationNewsRx.com

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Politics & Government Week -- A patent application by the inventors Korus, Thomas J. (Lindsay, NE), filed on August 15, 2011, was cleared for further review on February 28, 2013, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by VerticalNews correspondents.

Patent serial number 209616 is assigned to Lindsay Corporation.

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: "Embodiments of the present invention relate to a tire-pressure sensor mount apparatus and method that facilitate access to a tire-pressure sensor housed within a compartment of a wheel and tire assembly.

"Crops are cultivated throughout the world in a wide variety of climates with different terrains and soils. It is desirable in many of these climates to artificially supplement the climate's natural precipitation via irrigation systems to ensure crops receive adequate water. Additionally, irrigation systems can be used to deliver fertilizers and chemicals to, among other things, promote healthy crop growth, suppress weeds, and protect crops from frost.

"To enable movement of irrigation systems through terrain that may be muddy and/or contain obstacles, it is necessary that the systems be equipped with large wheel and tire assemblies that are capable of supporting significant weight and traversing hazardous terrain. To ensure optimal performance of such wheel and tire assemblies, it is desirable to maintain an ideal tire pressure therewithin with any loss of tire pressure or leaks identified and repaired as soon as possible to minimize downtime of the system.

"Some conventional wheel and tire assemblies include a tire-pressure monitor housed within the wheel and tire assemblies. Such tire-pressure monitors are occasionally damaged and often require maintenance and/or replacement more regularly than the wheel and tire assemblies. Such tire-pressure monitors, however, are only accessible after complete disassembly of the wheel and tire assembly. In view of the large size and weight of the wheel and tire assemblies utilized with irrigation systems, disassembly of such is particularly time consuming and burdensome, and may require heavy equipment to maneuver and service the wheel and tire assemblies.

"Accordingly, there is a need for a tire pressure sensor mounting apparatus that facilitates servicing thereof with heightened efficiency so that any downtime of agricultural equipment used with the tire pressure sensor is minimized."

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, VerticalNews journalists also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent: "The following brief summary is provided to indicate the nature of the subject matter disclosed herein. While certain aspects of the present invention are described below, the summary is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention provide an irrigation system and method that does not suffer from the problems and limitations of conventional irrigation systems such as those set forth above.

"The present invention provides, in its simplest form, a tire-pressure mount apparatus for a wheel and tire assembly of an irrigation system. The apparatus houses a tire-pressure sensor and permits selective removal thereof without requiring disassembly of the wheel and tire assembly.

"The aforementioned aspects may be achieved in one aspect of the present invention by providing a tire pressure-sensor mount apparatus of a moveable irrigation system. The apparatus may include a compartment adjoined to a pressurizable wheel and tire assembly that is in communication with the assembly and operable to be simultaneously pressurized therewith. The apparatus may also include a closure mounted to the compartment that is configured to permit selective exposure of an interior of the compartment. The assembly wheel and tire assembly may include a pressurizable cavity that extends into the compartment.

"The apparatus may include a valve stem operable to control pressurization of the pressurizable cavity. The valve stem may be mounted to the closure and may be operable to communicate fluid through the closure and to the pressurizable cavity. The apparatus may include a pressure sensor housed within the compartment that may be operable to sense an atmospheric pressure of the pressurizable cavity. The pressure sensor may be mounted to the closure. The closure may have an open configuration and a closed configuration, and may be operable to conceal an aperture in the compartment when in the closed configuration. The pressure sensor may be housed within the compartment. The pressure sensor and the interior of the compartment may be operable to be exposed via the aperture when the closure is in the open configuration. The enclosure may include a buffer. The apparatus may include a valve stem mounted to the closure such that the buffer substantially encloses the valve stem.

"The aforementioned aspects may also be achieved in one aspect of the present invention by providing a method of mounting a tire pressure sensor to a moveable irrigation system. The method may include the step of adjoining a compartment to a pressurizable wheel and tire assembly with the compartment in communication with the assembly and operable to be simultaneously pressurized therewith. The method may also include the steps of housing a tire pressure sensor in the compartment and mounting a closure to the compartment with the closure configured to permit selective exposure of the tire pressure sensor. The assembly may include a pressurizable cavity that extends into the compartment, and the pressure sensor may be operable to sense an atmospheric pressure of the pressurizable cavity.

"The method may further include the step of controlling pressurization of the pressurizable cavity via a valve stem. The method may further include the step of mounting a valve stem to the closure that may be operable to communicate fluid through the closure and to the pressurizable cavity. The pressure sensor may be mounted to the closure. The closure may have an open configuration and a closed configuration, and the closure may be operable to conceal an aperture in the compartment when in the closed configuration. The pressure sensor may be operable to be exposed via the aperture when the closure is in the open configuration. The closure may include a buffer.

"The method may further include the step of mounting a valve stem to the closure such that the buffer substantially encloses the valve stem. The method may further include the steps of mounting a valve stem to the closure and mounting the tire pressure sensor to the closure so that the closure is selectively removable from the compartment simultaneously with the valve stem and the tire pressure sensor as a single unit.

"The aforementioned aspects may also be achieved in one aspect of the present invention by providing a tire pressure-sensor apparatus for a tire and wheel assembly of a moveable irrigation system. The apparatus may include a housing having an internal cavity with a first opening on one side of the housing and a second opening on another side of the housing, and a cap assembly that may operable to close the first opening. The cap assembly may have a tire valve extending from an outer surface of the cap assembly and a tire-pressure sensor secured to an inner surface of the cap assembly. The tire-pressure sensor may be housed within the internal cavity when the first opening by the cap assembly so that the tire pressure sensor is operable to sense an atmospheric pressure within the internal cavity. The removal of the cap assembly from the housing may cause the tire valve and tire-pressure sensor to be simultaneously removed from the housing.

"The second opening may define a pathway between the internal cavity and an external cavity. The pathway may be formed when the housing is mounted to a wheel and tire assembly. The valve stem may be operable to communicate fluid through the cap and to the internal cavity. The valve stem may be operable to pressurize the internal cavity and an external cavity. The internal cavity may be operable to be simultaneously pressurized with an external cavity. The cap may include a buffer. The buffer may substantially enclose the valve stem. The apparatus may further include a gasket between the cap and the housing. The gasket may be housed within grooves in the cap and/or the housing.

"Additional aspects, advantages, and utilities of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

"Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

"FIG. 1 is a rear right side perspective view of an end truss of a moveable irrigation system having a tire pressure sensor mounting apparatus, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

"FIG. 2 is an elevated side view of a wheel and tire assembly of the system having the tire pressure sensor mounting apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

"FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional elevated rear view of the wheel and tire assembly of the system having the tire pressure sensor mounting apparatus along line 2-2 of FIG. 2;

"FIG. 4 is a magnified view of the tire pressure sensor mounting apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3;

"FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the tire pressure sensor mounting apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1; and

"FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the tire pressure sensor mounting apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 similar to FIG. 5 illustrating a closure having a valve stem and a tire pressure sensor secured as a unit.

"The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention."

URL and more information on this patent application, see: Korus, Thomas J. Tire Pressure Sensor Mounting Apparatus and Method. U.S. Patent Serial Number 209616, filed August 15, 2011, and posted February 28, 2013. Patent URL: http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=4632&p=93&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20130221.PD.&OS=PD/20130221&RS=PD/20130221

Keywords for this news article include: Lindsay Corporation.