Apparatus and method for weighing rail-supported vehicles
AssigneePfister Messtechnik GmbH
InventorHans W. Hafner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for measuring vertical forces exerted to a pair of parallel rails by a rail-supported vehicle uses sleepers for supporting said rails which are provided with recesses located below said rails and having inserted therein a force measuring device. An evaluation device may be arranged remotely from said force measuring device(s) for wireless receiving of measuring signals therefrom.
Claims17
An apparatus for measuring vertical forces exerted on at least one of a pair of parallel continuous rails by a rail-supported vehicle comprising:
- at least one sleeper in form of a bar-type support member extending laterally below said pair of rails;
- and force measuring means including a receiving member including a pressure sensor inserted in a recess formed in said sleeper at a location below at least one of said pair of rails, and a force introduction member including a piston for supporting said at least one continuous rail resiliently seated within said receiving member.
An apparatus for measuring vertical forces exerted on at least one of a pair of parallel rails by a rail-supported vehicle comprising:
- a bar-type support sleeper extending laterally below said pair of rails;
- and having a recess formed in said sleeper at a location below at least one of said pair of rails;
- a cup shaped housing inserted in said recess of said sleeper;
- a piston arranged in an interior space of said housing comprising a force introduction member for supporting said at least one rail and forming a narrow annular gap with an annular surface of said interior space and forming a bottom space between a bottom surface of said interior space and an end surface of said piston, said narrow gap and said bottom space being filled with elastomeric material strongly adhering to surfaces in contact therewith;
- and
- a pressure sensor means contacting said elastomeric material in said bottom space,
- wherein said recess in said sleeper is a bore having said housing fitted thereinto.
An apparatus for measuring vertical forces exerted on at least one of a pair of parallel rails by a rail-supported vehicle comprising:
- a bar-type support sleeper extending laterally below said pair of rails;
- force measuring means inserted in a recess formed in said sleeper at a location below at least one of said pair of rails including a force introduction member including a piston for supporting said at least one rail, and
- clamping means secured to said force introduction means and engaging said rail for firmly securing thereof to said force introduction means.
An apparatus for measuring vertical forces exerted on at least one of a pair of parallel rails by a rail-supported vehicle comprising:
- a bar-type support sleeper extending laterally below said pair of rails;
- and
- force measuring means inserted in a recess formed in said sleeper at a location below at least one of said pair of rails;
- wherein said sleeper is formed of non-creeping material and said recess is a cylindrical recess having inserted therein a piston comprising a force introduction means and forming a narrow annular gap with a peripheral surface of said interior space and a bottom space between a bottom surface of said interior space and an inner end surface of said piston, said narrow gap and said bottom space being filled with elastomeric material strongly adhering to surfaces in contact therewith and being in contact with a pressure sensor means.
A method of measuring vertical forces exerted at least on one of a pair of parallel rails by a rail-supported vehicle comprising the steps:
- providing at least one support member extending laterally below said pair of parallel rails with at least one recess at a location below one of said rails;
- fitting a force measuring means into said recess, said force measuring means including signal transmission elements;
- providing an evaluation means remotely from said force measuring means;
- wireless transmitting of measuring signals from said force measuring means to said evaluation means and indicating storing and/or printing evaluation results responsive to said measuring signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.