Load cell for weighing the contents of storage vessels

A load cell for weighing the contents of a storage vessel supported on a foundation by a plurality of storage vessel support members, said load cell comprising:

• a mounting pad having a planar lower surface, said mounting pad further including fastening means for securing said mounting pad either to said foundation or to one of said storage vessel support members;
• a first cylindrical member having its lower edge secured to an upper surface of said mounting pad;
• a resilient, generally planar, circular flex plate having its lower surface secured to the upper edge of said first cylindrical member;
• a second cylindrical member having its lower edge secured to the upper surface of said flex plate so that said first and second cylindrical members are concentric with each other, the diameters of said first and second cylindrical members differing from each other so that a force exerted between the lower edge of said first cylindrical member and the upper edge of said second cylindrical member in a direction extending along the axis of said first and second cylindrical members causes said flex plate to deflect with a magnitude that is a function of the magnitude of said force;
• a mounting plate secured to the upper edge of said second cylindrical member, said mounting plate having a single attachment structure positioned at the axis of said first and second cylindrical members for securing said mounting plate either to said foundation or to one of said storage vessel support members;
• and
• a strain sensor mounted on said flex plate, said strain sensor generating an electrical indication of the strain of said flex plate thereby providing an indication of the magnitude of said force whereby the weight of the contents of said storage vessel can be determined from the electrical indications generated by the load cells supporting each of said vessel support members.