Method and device for measuring the weight of a load to be hoisted onto a loading area

• US 9,534,948 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2012
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DIGI SENS Holding AG
• Original Assignee: Digi Sens AG
• Inventors: Lustenberger, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Gibson, Randy W
• Application Number:
  US13/984,490
• Publication Number:
  US 20140069728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,793 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 1/6463 fitted with articulated beams for longitudinal displacement of the container
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/12 having electrical weight-sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 1/122 Determining position of centre of gravity

Abstract

The invention provides a method and a device for measuring the weight of a load, which is displaced with a load lifting device over the edge of a raised loading surface and thus pulled onto the same or pushed down from the same, wherein during this operating process, in a support of the load lifting device loaded by the load, the force currently acting due to the displacement of the load is measured during the passage through a predetermined weighing window and the weight of the load is determined mathematically from the course thereof. Preferably, the load sensor is constructed as a tube which is equipped with two deformation sensors equipped essentially at right angles to one another.

Claims

1. A method for measuring a weight of a load, the method comprising:

arranging the load on a raised loading surface;

displacing the load with a load lifting device over an edge of the raised loading surface, the load lifting device including driving means and a rigid support driven by the driving means, the rigid support moving the load and being loaded by the load;

measuring, during passage of the load through a predetermined movement position, at least one of an axial force and a lateral force acting in the rigid support of the load lifting device; and

determining a value of at least one of the axial force and the lateral force a weight of the load based on at least one of the axial force and the lateral force.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the axial force acting in support of the load lifting device is measured and the predetermined movement position of the rigid support of the load lifting device corresponds to a position of the rigid support directly before a placement point of the load on the raised loading surface.

3. The method according to claim 2, comprising utilizing a force thereof acting on the edge of the raised loading surface to calculate the weight of the load.

4. The method according to claim 3, comprising forming the edge of the raised loading surface with rollers arranged on at least one roller support provided on the raised loading surface;

wherein weight forces of the load accommodated by the rollers during passage through the predetermined movement position of the rigid support of the load lifting device are determined from a flexural torque acting in the at least one roller support due to the load and additionally used for mathematically determining the weight of the load; and

wherein a moment acting in the at least one roller support is preferably detected by means of flexion of the roller support.

5. The method according to claim 3, comprising forming an edge of the raised loading surface with rollers, which are arranged on at least one roller support provided on the raised loading surface;

wherein weight forces of the load accommodated by the rollers during the passage through the predetermined movement position of the rigid support of the load lifting device are determined from the lateral force acting in the at least one roller support due to the load; and

wherein the lateral force is preferably determined by means of a load measuring sensor which has two deformation sensors inserted into a tube at right angles to one another.

6. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

measuring the lateral force acting in the rigid support of the load lifting device;

wherein the predetermined movement position extends over a weighing window;

determining the weight of the load from the course of the lateral force in the weighing window; and

wherein the weighing window is preferably delimited on one side by the moment at which a rear end of the load is lifted from the ground or placed on the ground.

7. The method according to claim 5, comprising determining a moment at which a rear end of the load is lifted from the ground or placed on the ground mathematically from geometry of the load lifting device and the geometry of the load or is detected by means of a sensor or is detected due to reduced shaking of the load, wherein a degree of shaking is preferably determined from a lateral force portion which changes back and forth rapidly.

8. The method according to claim 6, comprising delimiting the weighing window on the other side by the moment at which the front end of the load is placed on the raised loading surface or is lifted from the raised loading surface by means of the load lifting device.

9. The method according to claim 8, comprising defining a zone within the weighing window adjoining the other side, in which the load is displaced along a path along the raised loading surface with an only slightly raised front end, and wherein the lateral force is used for mathematically determining a correction variable corresponding to the frictional force of the load, which is used in turn for mathematically determining the weight of the load adjusted for friction.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein mathematical determination of the load comprises:

a) determining the lateral force as a function of progressive transport movement of the load lifting device in the measuring window, calculating therefrom a tensile force of the load lifting device and calculating an area value corresponding to the product of the tensile force and path of the progressive transport movement

b) multiplying the area value by a geometry factor for the load lifting device actually used and load which corresponds to a proportionality factor between the area value for a load weight and this load weight.

11. The method according to claim 10, comprising determining a proportionality factor before an actual work operation from geometry of the load lifting device and load and is calibrated by displacement of one or a plurality of standard loads.

12. A load measuring device comprising:

at least one rigid support which at least one rigid support can be moved in such a manner for displacement of a load over an edge of a raised loading surface;

a load measuring cell arranged in a support section of the rigid support, for determining a force acting in the support section during displacement of the load; and

a computer operatively connected to the load measuring cell, which computer analyzes the force signals of the load measuring cell in a predetermined movement position of the support section to determine the weight of the load.

13. The load measuring device according to claim 12, wherein the load measuring cell measures an axial force prevailing in the support section and the computer analyzes the axial force prevailing directly before placing of the load onto the raised loading surface and to determine the weight of the load on the basis of the axial force.

14. The load measuring device according to claim 12, wherein the load measuring cell comprises a tube and arranged perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the support section;

wherein two deformation sensors are inserted in the tube and arranged at an angle of essentially 90°

with respect to one another in such a manner that in the case of changed axial force, a first deformation sensor measures enlargement of the one assigned diameter of the tube and a second deformation sensor measures a reduction in size of the other diameter assigned to the tube; and

wherein the deformation sensors are preferably constructed as vibrating wire sensors.

15. The load measuring device according to claim 12, wherein rollers for the displacement of the load over the edge are provided at the edge of the raised loading surface, which rollers are arranged on at least one roller support which, in the event of a loading of the rollers by a load, flexes in accordance therewith, and further sensors are provided, which detect flexion of the at least one roller support, and wherein the computer is constructed to analyse the flexion signals of the sensors and likewise to use the flexion signals for determining the weight of the load.

16. The load measuring device according to claim 12, wherein the load measuring cell is constructed to measure the lateral force prevailing in the rigid support and the computer is constructed to calculate the weight of the load from the course of the lateral force in a predetermined measuring window.

17. The load measuring device according to claim 12, wherein the load measuring cell comprises a tube and is arranged perpendicularly both to a longitudinal axis of the support section and to the lateral force generated in the support section by means of movement of the load, and wherein two deformation sensors are inserted in the tube and arranged at an angle of essentially 90°

with respect to one another in such a manner that in the case of changed lateral force, a first deformation sensor measures enlargement of the one assigned diameter of the tube and a second deformation sensor measures the reduction in size of the other diameter assigned to the tube, wherein the deformation sensors are preferably constructed as vibrating wire sensors.

20. The load measuring device according to claim 12, wherein the computer is adapted to at least one of store determined data about work operations performed on an external storage medium and to read data relating to the load, from an external storage medium and to use the data for determining the weight of the load.

18. A computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method comprising:

a) determining lateral force acting on a rigid support from signal values of a load measuring cell imbedded in the rigid support that moving a load and being loaded by the load as a function of progressive transport movement of a load lifting device in a measuring window

b) calculating from the lateral force the tensile force of the load lifting device and calculating an area value corresponding to a product of the tensile force and paths of the progressive transport movement

c) multiplying the area value by a geometry factor for the load lifting device and load which corresponds to a proportionality factor between the area value for a load weight and this load weight, and wherein the computer is further constructed to store this product in a memory assigned to it and/or to display the product as weight of the load.

19. The computer-program product according to claim 18, wherein the computer comprises a non-transitory computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method comprising:

c) to determine a correction variable corresponding to the frictional force from the signal values of the load measuring cell during the advance of the load along a raised loading surface between s₂ and s₃ and

d) to process this correction variable using the product of area value and proportionality factor to give a more accurate value for the weight.