Wireless weighing system
First Claim
1. A weighing system for weighing a load at a plurality of locations, said apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of weighing pads, each of said weighing pads supporting said load at one of the locations to be weighed and each of said weighing pads including a load cell for producing an analog weight signal representative of the weight of the load at the location of said weighing pad, means for converting said weight signal into a digital infra-red information signal and for transmitting said information signal in a wireless manner, means for receiving a digital infra-red interrogation signal which is transmitted in a wireless manner, and means for enabling said converting and transmitting means in response to the receipt of said interrogation signal; and
central control means, located remotely from said plurality of weighing pads and including means for generating said interrogation signal as a digital infra-red signal in a wireless manner, means for receiving said respective infra-red information signals from each of said weighing pads, and means for processing each information signal to determine the weight of the load at each respective pad location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A wireless weighing system for determining the weight of each wheel of a vehicle and for combinations and percentages thereof. Wheel weighing pads are placed under respective wheels of the vehicle and each contains a load cell whose analog output is converted to a digital value which can be transmitted to a central control. The communications technique uses infra-red radiation and a digital protocol which allows the central control to interrogate each individual weighing pad and receive a weight response without interference. The interrogation signal of the central control comprises a series of pulse envelopes containing high intensity IR pulses of a short duration where the duration of the envelope and position in the sequence indicates an address of a respective wheel pad. As each wheel pad is interrogated, it responds with an information signal, which comprises a series of pulse groups in an envelope containing high intensity IR pulses of a short duration where the duration of a pulse group indicates the presence or absence of a data bit in the sequence.
97 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A weighing system for weighing a load at a plurality of locations, said apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of weighing pads, each of said weighing pads supporting said load at one of the locations to be weighed and each of said weighing pads including a load cell for producing an analog weight signal representative of the weight of the load at the location of said weighing pad, means for converting said weight signal into a digital infra-red information signal and for transmitting said information signal in a wireless manner, means for receiving a digital infra-red interrogation signal which is transmitted in a wireless manner, and means for enabling said converting and transmitting means in response to the receipt of said interrogation signal; and central control means, located remotely from said plurality of weighing pads and including means for generating said interrogation signal as a digital infra-red signal in a wireless manner, means for receiving said respective infra-red information signals from each of said weighing pads, and means for processing each information signal to determine the weight of the load at each respective pad location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification