Railcar weighing system with offset sensor
First Claim
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1. A system, comprising:
- a railcar body weight sensor mounted on a flexible load bearing member of a railcar body or a truck arrangement of a railcar;
a transmitter coupled to said sensor for transmitting a signal representing the output of said sensor; and
a database comprising sensor readings for a series of repeatedly added known incremental weights to a car body;
wherein;
the railcar has a support pad between a car body and said truck arrangement;
said car body rests on said support pad and is horizontally swivelable about an axis through the support pad;
said sensor is a stress/strain gauge mounted on one of said flexible members outside of said support pad that measures stress/strain based on the deformation of the flexible member upon which it is mounted and located exclusively a) offset from the axis, and b) on one side of the axis; and
said sensor output indicates a load within the railcar body utilizing data within the database.
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Abstract
One or more sensors mounted on a railcar sense the effect of weight of the railcar and transmit the data, for example via a communication link, to a user for storage and feedback where needed. In one embodiment the sensors are mounted on one or more rail trucks that carry the car body.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system, comprising:
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a railcar body weight sensor mounted on a flexible load bearing member of a railcar body or a truck arrangement of a railcar; a transmitter coupled to said sensor for transmitting a signal representing the output of said sensor; and a database comprising sensor readings for a series of repeatedly added known incremental weights to a car body; wherein; the railcar has a support pad between a car body and said truck arrangement; said car body rests on said support pad and is horizontally swivelable about an axis through the support pad; said sensor is a stress/strain gauge mounted on one of said flexible members outside of said support pad that measures stress/strain based on the deformation of the flexible member upon which it is mounted and located exclusively a) offset from the axis, and b) on one side of the axis; and said sensor output indicates a load within the railcar body utilizing data within the database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification