WEIGHING DEVICE

• US 3,741,327 A
• Filed: 10/13/1971
• Issued: 06/26/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Flintab AB Vasteras Sweden
• Original Assignee: Kjell Helge Nordstrom, Rune Nils Flinth
• Inventors: Nordstrom, Kjell Helge, Flinth, Rune Nils
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Jr., George H.
• Application Number:
  US05/188,957
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• Field of Search: 177/134,136,163,211
• US Class Current: 177/163
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/04 for weighing railway vehicles

Abstract

A device for static or dynamic weighing of railway guided vehicles comprising a weigh rail adapted to replace a section of the normal rails with the weigh rail being supported at its ends independent of the adjacent rails and with shear sensing strain gages along the side surfaces of the rail and arranged on the neutral axis of the rail for sensing the load applied to the rail. The device may further include start and stop measuring gages on the weigh rail, an arrangement for providing side guiding of the weigh rail, a structural beam foundation for the weigh rail and spacer means for maintaining the spacing of the adjacent rail ends.

Claims

1. A weigh device for weighing of railway guided vehicles comprising a weigh rail adapted to be operatively associated with the rails in a railway system, gage means connected to said weigh rail at spaced locations therealong with said gage means being arranged to sense the strain in said weigh rail due to shear forces and produce signals proportional to the load applied to said weigh rail, and indicator gage means being arranged to sense the strain in said weigh rail due to shear forces whereby the signal produced by said indicator gage means is operative to produce a signal indicative of a wheel of a vehicle passing thereover by a change in polarity of the signal as a wheel passes.

2. The weigh device of claim 1 wherein said indicator strain gage means comprise a pair of indicator gage means positioned between said spaced gage means for signalling the start and stop of the weighing operation.

3. A system for weighing railway guided vehicles comprising longitudinally extending rail means adapted to cooperate with and support the wheel of a railway vehicle, a plurality of ground support ties underlying and extending transverse to said rail means for supporting said rail means, said rail means including longitudinally spaced apart first and second rail sections defining a space therebetween, a weigh device having at least a portion thereof positioned in the space between said sections, foundation means supported on said ground support ties with said first and second sections and said portion of said weigh device supported by said foundation means, and means rigidly interconnecting said first and second sections to said foundation means for restraining longitudinal movement of said sections.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said foundation means comprises a pair of spacer plates secured to said first and second sections on either side thereof.

5. A system for weighing railway guided vehicles comprising:

longitudinally extending rail means adapted to cooperate with and support the wheels of a railway vehicle, a plurality of individual spaced apart ground supports extending transversely to and underlying said rail means, a weigh device operatively associated with a portion of said rail means, and a longitudinally extending structural beam foundation, said beam foundation being positioned beneath said portion of said rail means and extending longitudinally in both directions therefrom with said beam foundation being supported on said ground supports and supporting said weigh device.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein said beam foundation is generally channel shaped.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein said beam foundation comprises an I-beam.

8. A system for weighing railway guided vehicles including:

longitudinally extending rail means adapted to cooperate with and support the wheels of a railway vehicle, a plurality of spaced apart support ties underlying and extending transverse to said rail means, said rail means including longitudinally spaced apart first and second rail sections defining a space therebetween, weigh rail means positioned in the space between said first and second rail sections, means operatively supporting said weigh rail means at either end thereof on said support ties, said weigh rail means including a weigh section having a pair of longitudinally spaced apart shear sensing gage means secured to said weigh rail means with said gage means being arranged to sense the strain in said weigh rail means due to shear forces as the vehicle wheel passes thereover, and means restraining longitudinal movement of said adjacent rail ends for protecting said weigh rail means from being subjected to longitudinal compressive forces exerted by said adjacent rail ends.

9. The system of claim 8 and further including start and stop strain gages longitudinally spaced along and secured to said weigh rail means, said start and stop strain gages being operative to produce an electrical signal indicating the passage of a vehicle wheel thereover.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the wheel supporting surface of said weigh rail has a reduced radius along the mid-portion thereof.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein said weigh rail has an I-shaped cross-section at least at the locations of said strain gages with said strain gages being secured to the web portion formed by said I-shaped cross-section.

12. The system of claim 8 and further including means co-operating with said weigh rail means to restrain movement of said weigh rail means transversely of said first and second rail sections.

13. The system of claim 8 wherein said means for preventing said weigh section includes spacer means secured to and interconnecting the adjacent ends of said first and second rail sections.

14. The system of claim 8 wherein said means for protecting said weigh section comprises a space defined between at least one end of said weigh rail means and the adjacent rail end.

15. The system of claim 8 wherein said support means support said weigh rail means at its longitudinal neutral axis.

16. The system of claim 8 wherein said means operatively supporting said weigh rail means comprises structural foundation means supported on said ties and extending longitudinally oF and supporting the adjacent ends of said first and second rail stations and said weigh rail means.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said structural foundation means is channel shaped and constructed to have a moment of inertia which progressively increases toward the location of said weigh rail.