Wheel force measurement systems and methods

Abstract

A system determines a wheel contact force in a vehicle that includes a support system including a wheel and a force transmission member configured to transfer a load and/or power to, and from, the wheel to the support system. The includes a sensor connected to the force transmission member that is configured to detect strain in the force transmission member and generate signals representative of the strain and a processor configured to derive a lateral force on the wheel from the signals. A method of calibrating a wheel force measurement system for a vehicle includes measuring a lateral force on a flange of a wheel in contact with a rail or road surface, generating data with a sensor on the force transmission member, and calibrating the data based at least in part on the measured lateral force. A method of operating a vehicle includes determining a plurality of lateral forces Y on a wheel of the vehicle, summing a plurality of lateral forces Y to determine a sum of wheel lateral forces ΣY, determining a vertical force Q on the wheel, determining a lateral to vertical coefficient value defined as ΣY/Q, and controlling operation of the vehicle to maintain the lateral to vertical coefficient below a determined limit or within a determined range.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.