Load indicating member with identifying element
First Claim
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1. A method of measuring change in acoustic length of a load indicating member, comprising the steps of:
- accessing an identifying element on the load indicating member with a reader, wherein the load indicating member is a fastener, and determining data relating to the fastener for deriving a zero-load acoustic length of the fastener and data for deriving an ultrasonic echo waveform measurement cycle used for acoustic length measurement of the fastener;
measuring the acoustic length of the fastener using an ultrasonic transducer and the derived measurement cycle; and
calculating a difference between the measured acoustic length and the zero-load acoustic length and calculating the change in the acoustic length of the load indicating member from the calculated difference between the measured acoustic length and the zero-load acoustic length.
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Abstract
A load indicating member is provided with an identifying element which can be accessed and used to determine ultrasonic measurement parameters specific to the load indicating member to provide more precise and more reliable load measurements by compensating for differences resulting from manufacturing variations in individual load indicating members. The parameters specific to the load indicating member can be stored in coding applied to the load indicating member or in a database that can be accessed remotely, for example, using the Internet.
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Citations
4 Claims
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1. A method of measuring change in acoustic length of a load indicating member, comprising the steps of:
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accessing an identifying element on the load indicating member with a reader, wherein the load indicating member is a fastener, and determining data relating to the fastener for deriving a zero-load acoustic length of the fastener and data for deriving an ultrasonic echo waveform measurement cycle used for acoustic length measurement of the fastener; measuring the acoustic length of the fastener using an ultrasonic transducer and the derived measurement cycle; and calculating a difference between the measured acoustic length and the zero-load acoustic length and calculating the change in the acoustic length of the load indicating member from the calculated difference between the measured acoustic length and the zero-load acoustic length. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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Specification