Tension monitor means

Apparatus to measure and monitor the tension on a strand comprising a frame member, a shaft extending from the frame member and having strand engaging means rotatably mounted thereon, a coupling assembly connecting one end of the shaft to the frame member, said coupling assembly [having] including spaced and opposed wall members located to be intersected at intermediate locations by and to be substantially normal to the axis of the shaft, one of said wall members being connected to the frame member and the other being operatively connected to the shaft, at least two spaced and opposed deflectable portions having opposite ends integrally connected respectively to and extending between the spaced wall members, the deflectable portions having cross sectional shapes which are substantially wider than they are thick so as to be more deflectable in the direction normal to their thickness, said deflectable portions being located [respectively] extending between the spaced wall members with the wider dimensions facing each other on opposite sides of the axis of the shaft so that when force is exerted on the shaft by the tension of a strand passing thereover substantially parallel deflection of the deflectable portions will occur and essentially parallel relative movement between the spaced wall members connected thereto , means for holding the strand in engagement with the strand engaging means for producing a strand tension load component on the shaft with strand tension load components deflecting the shaft and straining the deflectable portions, and strain sensing transducer means located on at least one of the deflectable portions for conveying therefrom a signal derived from said straining and therefore representative of the tension on the strand.

[7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the coupling assembly includes spaced opposed wall members connected integrally to opposite ends of the

• deflectable portions.] 8. The apparatus of claim [7] 6 including a housing for around the coupling assembly, means connecting one of the opposed wall members to the housing, said housing being constructed to limit movement of the other of the spaced opposed
• wall members relative to said one wall member. 9. The apparatus of claim [7] 6 wherein said coupling assembly includes a coupling member having a portion connected to said other opposed wall member and another portion connected to the shaft, said housing being constructed to also limit movement of the said coupling member under load.
• 0. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said strain sensing transducer means includes at least two strain responsive members attached at spaced locations to one of the deflectable portions, and circuit means connecting
• the strain responsive members into an electric circuit. 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein four strain responsive members are attached to one surface of said one deflectable portion, means connecting said strain responsive members into a Wheatstone bridge circuit, and other circuit means connected to said Wheatstone bridge circuit, said other circuit means including bridge means and means to indicate the tension on the
• shaft. 12. Means to measure tension forces on a member moving over and around a roll comprising
• a roll rotatable about an axis,
• means supporting the roll from at least one end thereof including means responsive to forces on said roll in a direction to deflect said roll, said force responsive means including
• a fixed support structure and a support member having a first end portion anchored to the fixed support structure and a second end portion, said support member including a pair of spaced deflectable portions extending between and integrally connecting the first and second end portions, said deflectable portions being located on opposite sides of a line extending through the axis of roll,
• a diaphragm member interposed between the second end portion of the support member and the one roll end, said diaphragm having a hub portion connected to the second end portion and a rim portion outwardly therefrom,
• means connecting the rim portion to the said one roll end,
• means on said fixed support structure engageable by the second end portion of said support member and by the rim portion of the diaphragm when the roll is under predetermined tension force to limit the amount of possible deflection of said support member, and
• sensor means attached to at least one of said pair of deflectable portions
• at a location to indicate the deflection thereof. 13. The means defined in claim 12 including similar means supporting the roll at both opposite ends
• thereof. 14. The means defined in claim 12 wherein the fixed support structure includes an annular wall portion anchored at one end, the first and second end portions of the support member being round and being positioned inside the annular wall portion of the fixed support structure and said spaced deflectable portions being relatively flat and in spaced
• parallel planes. 15. The means defined in claim 14 wherein the sensor means include a pair of strain gages respectively attached to one of the
• deflectable portions adjacent opposite ends thereof. 16. The means defined in claim 14 wherein the sensor means include two pairs of strain gages, one pair of strain gages being attached adjacent each opposite end of one
• of said deflectable portions on the same surface thereof. 17. The means defined in claim 16 including means connecting the strain gages into a
• bridge circuit. 18. The means defined in claim 14 wherein said annular wall portion limits movement of the first end portion relative to the
• second end portion. 19. The means defined in claim 12 wherein the
• diaphragm includes a flexible portion. 20. Means to measure tension forces on a strand member moving over and around a rotatable member comprising a member rotatable about an axis,
• means for supporting said rotatable member including means responsive to forces on said rotatable member in a direction angularly related to the axis thereof, said force responsive means including
• a fixed support structure and a support member having a first end portion anchored to the fixed support structure at a location such that the axis of the rotatable member intersects said first end portion at an intermediate location thereon and a second end portion axially spaced from the rotatable member and in position to also be intersected at an intermediate location thereon by the axis of the rotatable member , said support member having a pair of spaced deflectable portions extending between and integrally connecting the first and second end portions, each of said deflectable portions [being] including a planar member that is deflectable primarily in a preselected plane only, said planar members being arranged in spaced and opposed relationship located on opposite sides of the axis of the rotatable member[,] in the space between the first and second end portions, tension forces on the strand member applied to the rotatable member produce essentially parallel deflection of the deflectable portions and essentially parallel movement between the first and second end portions,
• other means fixedly connected to said second end portion of the support member for connecting the support member to the rotatable member, said other means having a portion operatively connected to said rotatable member,
• means on the fixed support structure in position to be engageable by said other means connected to the second end portion when the rotatable member is under predetermined tension force to limit the amount of possible movement of said rotatable member and of the deflectable portions, and
• sensor means attached to at least one of said pair of deflectable portions at a location to respond to the deflection thereof.