Wireless enabled tension meter

• US 10,107,699 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2017
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Southwire Company
• Original Assignee: Southwire Company
• Inventors: Bardin, Tim R., Garrish, Chad, Daniel, Allan Wayne, Tuggle, James Phil, Temblador, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Noori, Max
• Application Number:
  US15/419,152
• Publication Number:
  US 20170138806A1
• Time in Patent Office: 631 Days
• Field of Search: 73862
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 5/047 Specific indicating or recording arrangements, e.g. for remote indication, for indicating overload or underload
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 5/107 for measuring a reaction force applied on an element disposed between two supports, e.g. on a plurality of rollers or gliders
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 1/08 through tubing or conduit, e.g. rod or draw wire for pushing or pulling inserting electrical cables into tubes using wallbores E21B17/206; for optical cables G02B6/4401
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A wireless-enabled tension meter is disclosed. The wireless-enabled tension meter can include a pulley arrangement through which a portion of a guiding member is routed for use during a pull of conductor through a conduit network. A tension force is exerted on the guiding member during the pull as the guiding member is pulled through the pulley arrangement. The wireless-enabled tension meter can also include a sensor for measuring the tension force, a wireless network interface, and a control module for performing operations. The operations performed by the control module can include capturing data corresponding to the tension force and causing the wireless network interface to send the data to a wireless communication device.

Claims

1. A tension meter comprising:

a pulley through which a guiding member attached to a conductor is to be routed during a pull of the guiding member through a conduit, wherein a tension force is exerted on the guiding member as the guiding member traverses the pulley during the pull; and

a sensor comprising a load pin as an axis of the pulley, wherein the load pin measures a radial force exerted on the pulley by the guiding member as the guiding member traverses the pulley during the pull, and wherein the tension force is calculated based upon the radial force.

2. The tension meter of claim 1, further comprising a wireless network interface that operates in accordance with a short-range wireless technology.

3. The tension meter of claim 2, wherein the short-range wireless technology comprises BLUETOOTH.

4. The tension meter of claim 1, further comprising a wireless network interface that operates in accordance with a wireless local area network technology.

5. The tension meter of claim 1, further comprising a wireless network interface that operates in accordance with a wireless wide area network technology.

6. The tension meter of claim 1, further comprising:

a wireless network interface; and

a control module that performs operations comprising

capturing data associated with the tension force, and

causing the wireless network interface to send the data to a device.

7. The tension meter of claim 6, wherein the device comprises a tablet, a smartphone, or a tension meter remote device.

8. The tension meter of claim 1, further comprising a display upon which data associated with the tension force is to be displayed.

9. A tension meter comprising:

a pulley through which a guiding member attached to a conductor is to be routed during a pull of the guiding member through a conduit, wherein a tension force is exerted on the guiding member as the guiding member traverses the pulley during the pull;

a sensor comprising a load pin as an axis of the pulley, wherein the load pin measures a radial force exerted on the pulley by the guiding member as the guiding member traverses the pulley during the pull, and wherein the tension force is calculated based upon the radial force;

a wireless network interface over which to send data associated with the tension force to a device; and

a control module comprising a processor and a memory component, wherein the memory component stores instructions of an application that, when executed by the processor, cause the control module to perform operations comprising

receiving, from the sensor, the data associated with the tension force, and

causing the wireless network interface to send the data to the device.

10. The tension meter of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the device via the wireless network interface, a command; and

performing a function in response to the command.

11. The tension meter of claim 10, wherein the command instructs the control module to measure a metric associated with the pull.

12. The tension meter of claim 11, wherein the command instructs the control module to measure the metric in real-time during the pull or with a delay.

13. The tension meter of claim 10, wherein the command instructs the control module to perform a data logging function.

14. A computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions that, when executed by a processor of a tension meter, cause the tension meter to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a sensor of the tension meter, a radial force exerted on a pulley by a guiding member attached to a conductor as the guiding member traverses a pulley of the tension meter during a pull of the guiding member through a conduit, wherein the sensor comprises a load pin as an axis of the pulley, wherein the load pin measures the radial force;

calculating a tension force based upon the radial force received from the sensor;

causing a wireless network interface to send data associated with the tension force to a device;

receiving, from the device via the wireless network interface, a command; and

performing a function in response to the command.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the command instructs a control module to measure a metric associated with the pull.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the command instructs the control module to measure the metric in real-time during the pull or with a delay.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the command instructs a control module to perform a data logging function.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the wireless network interface operates in accordance with a short-range wireless technology.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the short-range wireless technology comprises BLUETOOTH.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the wireless network interface operates in accordance with a wireless local area network technology or a wireless wide area network technology.