Payload monitoring for a tractor-trailer
First Claim
1. A method for determining the weight of a vehicle comprising the steps of:
- 1) providing a first axle subject to a known axle weight and having a first accelerometer and providing at least one additional axle having an additional accelerometer;
2) producing a first signal in response to measuring the acceleration of the first axle with the first accelerometer;
3) producing a second signal in response to measuring the acceleration of the additional axle with the additional accelerometer;
4) determining the vehicle weight by comparing the second signal to the first signal; and
5) indicating the vehicle weight to a vehicle operator.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for determining the weight of a vehicle includes a first axle subject to a relatively fixed axle weight. Typically, this axle is a front steering axle for a tractor-trailer combination vehicle. The load on this axle is considered known as the load does not vary significantly during the operation of the vehicle. A first accelerometer is supported on the first axle and measures the vertical acceleration of the first axle producing a first signal. Each additional axle on the vehicle, including any single rear or tandem drive axles and any trailer axles, also supports an accelerometer. The accelerometers on each of these additional axles measure the vertical acceleration of its respective axle. Each of these additional accelerometers produces a signal representative of its respective axle accelerations and these signals are combined to produce a second signal. A processor determines the vehicle weight by comparing the second signal to the first signal.
47 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for determining the weight of a vehicle comprising the steps of:
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1) providing a first axle subject to a known axle weight and having a first accelerometer and providing at least one additional axle having an additional accelerometer; 2) producing a first signal in response to measuring the acceleration of the first axle with the first accelerometer; 3) producing a second signal in response to measuring the acceleration of the additional axle with the additional accelerometer; 4) determining the vehicle weight by comparing the second signal to the first signal; and 5) indicating the vehicle weight to a vehicle operator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for determining the weight of a vehicle comprising
a first axle subject to a known axle weight; -
at least one additional axle; a first accelerometer for measuring the acceleration of the first axle and producing a first signal; at least one additional accelerometer for measuring the acceleration of the additional axle and producing a second signal; and a processor for determining the vehicle weight by comparing the second signal to the first signal. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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15. A system as recited in claim 6 wherein said first axle is a steering axle.
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16. A system as recited in claim 15 wherein said at least one additional axle is a driving axle.
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17. A system as recited in claim 16 wherein said at least one additional axle is comprised of a plurality of additional axles including at least one drive axle and at least one trailer axle.
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18. A system as recited in claim 17 wherein said at least one additional accelerometer is comprised of a plurality of additional accelerometers including a drive axle accelerometer for measuring the acceleration of said drive axle and a trailer axle accelerometer for measuring the acceleration of said trailer axle.
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19. A system as recited in claim 18 wherein said first accelerometer measures a plurality of accelerations for said steering axle and produces a plurality of first acceleration signals and said processor determines said first signal based on the standard deviation derived from said plurality of first acceleration signals;
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said drive axle accelerometer measures a plurality of accelerations for said drive axle and produces a plurality of drive axle acceleration signals; said trailer axle accelerometer measures a plurality of accelerations for said trailer axle and produces a plurality of trailer axle accelerations signals; said processor determines a drive axle standard deviation derived from said plurality of drive axle accelerations signals and determines a trailer axle standard deviation derived from said plurality of trailer axle accelerations signals, said processor determining said second signal based on a summation of said drive axle and trailer axle standard deviations; and said processor determines the weight of said vehicle by dividing said second signal by said first signal thereby producing a signal ratio, adding said signal ratio to a constant, and multiplying this quantity by the known axle weight of said steering axle.
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20. A system for determining the weight of a vehicle comprising
a front axle subject to a known axle weight and having a first accelerometer for measuring the acceleration of said front axle and producing a first signal; -
at least one drive axle having a second accelerometer for measuring the acceleration of said drive axle and producing a drive axle signal; a least one trailer axle having a third accelerometer for measuring the acceleration of said trailer axle and producing a trailer axle signal; and a processor which combines said drive axle signal and said trailer axle signal to form a second signal, said processor determining the vehicle weight by comparing said second signal to said first signal.
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Specification