Animal scale
AssigneeWeigh Right Electronic Systems, Inc.
InventorH. Allen Schneider
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A scale for weighing an animal as it moves along a weighing platform. The platform is suspended at four corners with tensile load cells mounted to mechanisms suspending the platform at the corners. Weight applied to the platform will produce tensile stress in the load cells. The cells produce analogue signals that are proportional to the magnitude of the tensile forces. A restraining device allows slight vertical platform movement (in response to applied load) while restraining longitudinal and transverse platform movement. The suspension means and restraining means operate to allow transfer of vertical stress on the load cells with horizontal restraints being eliminated through the suspension and restraining means.
Claims6
An animal weighing scale, comprising:
- a support frame;
- an elongated weighing platform having a planar surface adapted to receive the animal and adapted to permit the animal to move over the platform from one end to another;
- first horizontal rigid elongated tie bars having opposed ends connecting the support frame and platform about pivot axes parallel to the planar platform surface and transverse to the length thereof to allow slight vertical deflection of the platform and to resist horizontal motion thereof in a longitudinal direction;
- second horizontal rigid elongated tie bars having opposed ends connecting the frame and platform about pivot axes parallel to the planar platform surface and oriented longitudinally with respect to the elongated platform to allow slight vertical deflection of the platform and to resist horizontal motion thereof in a transverse direction;
- tensile load cell means for generating an analog signal proportional to the magnitude of tensile force applied thereto;
- platform suspension means suspending the platform from the frame and mounting the tensile load cell means intermediate the platform and frame, for directly placing the load cell in tension in response to vertical downward deflection of the platform with respect to the frame when the animal is on the platform and for allowing free upward deflection of the platform without loading the cell means in compression;
- and
- isolator means between the weighing platform and frame and selectively operable to transfer complete support of the platform directly to the support frame thereby relieving any load on the load cell means and suspension means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.