Vehicle load weighing system and load cells for such systems

A load cell operable with a vehicle having a chassis part and a container part carried by said chassis part, said load cell supported by said chassis part and supporting said container part for measuring the weight of said container part and any load therein, said load cell comprising:

• a. a block having top and bottom surfaces, first and second ends in the lengthwise direction, front and rear sides, first and second force contact areas spaced apart in the lengthwise direction on one of said bottom and said top surfaces of said block, and a third force contact area on the other of said bottom and top surfaces situated in said lengthwise direction between said first and second force contact areas,
• b. first and second coupling means for coupling said first and second force contact areas respectively to one of said container and chassis parts to receive a downward or upward force respectively therefrom, and third coupling means for coupling said third force contact area to the other of said container and chassis parts to receive a downward or upward force respectively therefrom, thus establishing a dual shear beam loading configuration,
• c. at least one strain gauge mounting area on said front side of said block, positioned lengthwise between said first and third force contact areas,
• d. at least one strain gauge mounted to each of said at least one strain gauge mounting areas,
• e. at least one of said first, second and third coupling means comprising an engaging surface which is slidable for lengthwise and transverse movement relative to the force contact area it engages on said block, while a vertical force is applied between said coupling means and the force contact area it engages, and
• f. electrical interface means for receiving analog output data from said at least one strain gauge and outputting a digital signal representative of said weight of said container and any load therein.

A load weighing system for weighing individual loads put into a container carried by the chassis of a vehicle comprising:

• a. at least three high precision load cells, each including at least one Wheatstone bridge stain gauge, a top surface having a top coupling area and a bottom surface having a bottom coupling area, said high precision load cells are mounted between said vehicle chassis and said vehicle container to provide data from said Wheatstone bridge stain gauges indicative of weight of said container and loads thereon, said vehicle container is coupled to said top coupling area and said vehicle chassis is coupled to said bottom coupling area, at least one of said top coupling area and said bottom coupling area comprising an engaging surface which is slideable for lengthwise and transverse movement between said engaging surface and said vehicle chassis or said container coupled thereto;
• and
• b. system controller software, network wiling, and a system controller;
• said high precision load cells and said system controller are connected electronically by said network wiring.