Onboard weight indicator for measuring the load applied to a vehicle axle
First Claim
1. An onboard weight indicator for measuring the load applied to an axle which is coupled to a vehicle by a suspension, said onboard weight indicator comprising:
- an averaging arm having a first end and a second end;
a first mounting arm coupled with the first end of the averaging arm and a second mounting arm coupled with the second end of the averaging arm;
means for rigidly mounting the first and second mounting arms to spaced apart portions of said vehicle which move in response to movement of the suspension;
a sensor responsive to variations in a distance between a fixed point on the vehicle and said averaging arm, said sensor being coupled with the averaging arm between said first end and said second end;
a processor operatively coupled with the sensor for correlating the sensor response to variations in said distance into a weight measurement; and
means for coupling the sensor with the fixed point on the vehicle.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An onboard weighing device for a vehicle is provided which allows the weight sensor to be positioned off-center to accommodate centrally positioned vehicle components while still maintaining the accuracy of the average weight determined by the sensor. The weight sensor is mounted between a fixed point on the vehicle and a center averaging arm. The ends of the averaging arm are coupled with mounting arms which are in turn coupled with spaced apart portions of the suspension. Alternatively, the mounting arms can be coupled with the tandem axles or the drive differentials for those axles. The mounting arms are of different lengths so that the midpoint between the ends of the mounting arms coincides with the mounting point of the weight sensor on the center averaging arm. This results in the effective distance between the sensor and the load points on the axles being substantially equal despite the spacing of the sensor from the true centerline between the load points.
32 Citations
16 Claims
-
1. An onboard weight indicator for measuring the load applied to an axle which is coupled to a vehicle by a suspension, said onboard weight indicator comprising:
-
an averaging arm having a first end and a second end; a first mounting arm coupled with the first end of the averaging arm and a second mounting arm coupled with the second end of the averaging arm; means for rigidly mounting the first and second mounting arms to spaced apart portions of said vehicle which move in response to movement of the suspension; a sensor responsive to variations in a distance between a fixed point on the vehicle and said averaging arm, said sensor being coupled with the averaging arm between said first end and said second end; a processor operatively coupled with the sensor for correlating the sensor response to variations in said distance into a weight measurement; and means for coupling the sensor with the fixed point on the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
-
-
5. An onboard weight indicator in combination with a vehicle having a frame and a wheeled axle coupled with the frame by a suspension, said onboard weight indicator comprising:
-
an averaging arm having a first end and a second end; a first mounting arm coupled with the first end of the averaging arm and a second mounting arm coupled with the second end of the averaging arm, said first and second mounting arms being rigidly mounted to spaced apart portions of said vehicle which move in response to movement of the suspension; a sensor responsive to variations in a distance between a fixed point on the vehicle and said averaging arm, said sensor being coupled with the averaging arm between said first end and said second end and extending between said averaging arm and a fixed point on said vehicle; and a processor operatively coupled with the sensor for correlating the sensor response to variations in said distance into a weight measurement. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. An onboard weight indicator in combination with a vehicle having a frame and wheeled tandem axles coupled with the frame by a suspension, said onboard weight indicator comprising:
-
an averaging arm having a first end and a second end; a first mounting arm coupled with the first end of the averaging arm and a second mounting arm coupled with the second end of the averaging arm, said first mounting arm being rigidly mounted to one of the tandem axles and the second mounting arm being rigidly mounted to the other of the tandem axles; a sensor responsive to variations in a distance between a fixed point on the vehicle and said averaging arm, said sensor being coupled with the averaging arm between said first end and said second end and extending between said averaging arm and a fixed point on said vehicle; and a processor operatively coupled with the sensor for correlating the sensor response to variations in said distance into a weight measurement. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
-
Specification