APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING TORQUE AND POWER
First Claim
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1. A torque transfer and measuring apparatus that installs in a drive train of a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a universal joint adapted for interconnecting adjacent elongated members of a drive shaft of a motor vehicle and having at least a first journal and an opposing second journal;
a pressure sensor attached to the first journal to sense pressure applied to the first journal during rotational operation of the drive shaft;
an analyzer configured to receive a signal representative of the pressure sensed by the pressure sensor, an rpm signal representative of the speed of the engine, and a speed signal representative of the speed of the vehicle and to determine a torque value representative of a torque of the engine; and
a display device that displays the determined torque value.
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Abstract
A torque measuring apparatus having a pressure sensor attached to a journal of a U-joint that interconnects members of a drive shaft to sense pressure during rotational operation of the drive shaft and an analyzer that receives a signal representative of the pressure, an rpm signal representative of the engine speed, and a signal representative of the speed of the vehicle, to determine a torque value that is displayed on a display device. A method of determining motor vehicle torque is disclosed.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A torque transfer and measuring apparatus that installs in a drive train of a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a universal joint adapted for interconnecting adjacent elongated members of a drive shaft of a motor vehicle and having at least a first journal and an opposing second journal; a pressure sensor attached to the first journal to sense pressure applied to the first journal during rotational operation of the drive shaft; an analyzer configured to receive a signal representative of the pressure sensed by the pressure sensor, an rpm signal representative of the speed of the engine, and a speed signal representative of the speed of the vehicle and to determine a torque value representative of a torque of the engine; and a display device that displays the determined torque value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A torque transfer and measuring apparatus that installs in a drive train of a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a universal joint adapted for interconnecting adjacent elongated members of a drive shaft of a motor vehicle and having at least a first journal and an opposing second journal; a first pressure sensor attached to the first journal and a second pressure sensor attached to the second journal to sense pressure applied thereto during rotational operation of the drive shaft; a transmitter that communicates a first signal from the first pressure sensor representative of the pressure applied to the first journal and from the second pressure sensor representative of the pressure applied to the second journal; a receiver that receives the first signal and the second signal from the transmitter; an analyzer configured to receive the first signal and the second signal from the receiver, an rpm signal representative of the speed of the engine, and a speed signal representative of the speed of the vehicle, and to determine a torque value representative of a torque of the engine; and a display device that displays the determined torque value. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of determining torque of a motor vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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(a) attaching a pressure sensor to at least one journal of a universal joint adapted for interconnecting adjacent elongated members of a drive shaft of a motor; (b) communicating a signal to an analyzer representative of a pressure sensed by a pressure sensor during rotational operation of the drive shaft; (c) communicating to the analyzer an rpm signal representative of the speed of the engine and a speed signal representative of the speed of the vehicle; (d) determining a torque value representative of a torque of the engine; and (e) displaying the determined torque value. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification