FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to apparatus for weighing moving vehicles.
More particularly it relates to unique hybrid bending plate apparatus for
weighing moving vehicles.
5
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Weighing moving vehicles is a challenge and weighing them correctly is a
bigger one. There are various types of mechanisms for weighing moving
10 vehicles. The most common of these weighing mechanisms/ systems rely
on piezoelectric sensors, load cells, bending plate strain gauges, linear
variable differential transformers, and capacitive mats.
Load cells are considered to be the most accurate of these mechanisms. The
15 load cell system comprises 4 load cells but is used for slow speed weigh in
motion i.e. for speed from 0-10 Km/h. Disadvantage of such system is
clogging of roads as well as loss of time and resources.
Bending plate based system is used for medium speed weigh in motion.
20 Bending plates have strain gauges fitted in the plate itself. Two or more
plates are usually required per lane. The plates get deformed when weight is
applied and exhibit a linear relationship between amount of deformation
and amount of force applied. Typically one plate has a linear relation
relationship (measurement of weight on basis of force) and other non-linear
25 relationship (measurement of weight on basis of vibration etc.). These strain
gauges measure the force applied by wheels of an axle of passing vehicle.
However, there are various disadvantages of the existing bending plate such
as:
(i) In case of failure of single gauge one needs to replace the
30 complete plate.
3
(ii) Accuracy of bending plate is less
(iii) Bending plate electrical output is non-linear.
(iv) Replacement and maintenance cost is high.
The whole purpose of weighing moving vehicles is to gather accurate
weight, therefore, there is need for mechanism / apparatus 5 that has higher
accuracy. There is need for mechanism/ apparatus that can weigh moving
vehicles at relatively higher speed and does not result in clogging on roads.
There is also need for mechanism/ apparatus that does not require
replacement of complete plate on failure of single gauge. There is also need
10 for mechanism / apparatus that does not suffer from defects of nonlinearity.
There is also need of mechanism/ apparatus whose calibration is
easier. There is also need for mechanism/ apparatus that provides for
prompt maintenance and replacement.
15 These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention
will become better understood with reference to the appending description
and drawings.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
20
To answer the aforementioned drawbacks, the present invention provides
for a novel hybrid bending plate apparatus/ mechanism that can be used for
weighing moving vehicles at higher speed, passing over a designated space.
25 The present invention provides for a hybrid bending plate apparatus for
weighing moving vehicles comprising of a base frame that is fixed on the
road, a first hybrid bending plate installed on the road in level with ground
surface wherein said first top plate is fitted with load cells; a second hybrid
bending plate fitted with load cells installed side by side to the said first top
4
plate on the road in level with ground surface to cover the width of traffic
lane to weigh individual axle of moving vehicles; wherein the load cells are
mounted between the base frame and said hybrid bending plates to transfer
load on all the load cells, and load cells are configured to produce electric
signal proportional to the force applied by the wheels of axle 5 of the passing
vehicle; a junction box configured to add the signals generated from said
load cells and to feed them to a weight controller; wherein all the load cells
are connected in parallel in the junction box; a weight controller configured
to amplify the electrical signal produced by the load cells and convert them
10 into digital form to provide weight information of the passing vehicle,
wherein the output of the load cells is fed to the weigh controller through
the junction box.
The present apparatus can be used in speed range of 0-80Km/h. It does not
15 suffer from defects of non-linearity. Calibration is very easy as each plate
can be calibrated individually with known test weights. Maintenance and
replacement is prompt and can be done at site.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
20
Figure 1 shows top view of assembled Hybrid Bending Plate showing both
deck and base frame in assembled position.
Figure 2 shows side view of assembled Hybrid Bending Plate with deck and
base frame in assembled position.
25 Figure 3 shows top plan view of two Hybrid Bending Plates placed side by
side with both deck and base frame in assembled position.
Figure 4 shows isometric view of two Hybrid Bending Plates placed side by
side.
5
Figure 5 shows a single hybrid bending plate bottom view without any
accessories.
Figure 6 shows a single hybrid bending plate top view with accessories.
Figure 7 shows a single hybrid bending plate top view without accessories.
Figure 8 shows bottom view of 5 single base frame.
Figure 9 shows top view of single base frame.
Figure 10 shows top view of single base frame with load cells.
Figure 11 shows top view of single hybrid bending plate in assembled
condition (deck and base frame).
10 REFERENCE ALPHABETS AND NUMERALS
A SINGLE HYBRID BENDING PLATE LENGTH AT TOP
B SINGLE HYBRID BENDING PLATE WIDTH
C SINGLE HYBRID BENDING PLATE LENGTH AT
BOTTOM
D SINGLE HYBRID BENDING PLATE ALONG WITH
DEPRESSION BARS
E BASE FRAME INTERNAL WIDTH
F BASE FRAME INTERNAL LENGTH
G BASE FRAME LENGTH AT TOP
H BASE FRAME WIDTH WITHOUT BOLT HEADS
I BASE FRAME AT BOTTOM
J BASE FRAME OVER ALL WIDTH
6
K HYBRID BENDING PLATE OVER ALL THICKNESS
L BASE FRAME INTERNAL DEPTH
M BASE FRAME OVER ALL DEPTH
N REQUIRED LENGTH ON ROAD SURFACE TO FIX
HYBRID BENDING PLATES
O REQUIRED WIDTH ON ROAD SURFACE TO FIX TWO
HYBRID BENDING PLATES SIDE BY SIDE
P GAP BETWEEN HYBRID BENDING PLATES
X LOAD CELL CENTER TO CENTER DISTANCE ALONG
LENGTH
Y LOAD CELL CENTER TO CENTER DISTANCE ALONG
WIDTH
2 HYBRID BENDING PLATE (MS CASTING)
4 PROJECTED RIBS AT BOTTOM ALONG WIDTH
6 PROJECTED FLAT RIBS AT BOTTOM MID SPAN
8 PROJECTED FLAT TIE RIBS/BAR IN-BETWEEN
PROJECTED RIBS (4)
10 DEPRESSION BAR
12 DEPRESSION BAR SEAT ANGLE FIXED AT BASE
FRAME
14 RUBBER STRIPE BELOW DEPRESSION BARS
16 LOAD CELL
18 LOAD CELL BOLT UP AREA OR LOAD CELL CONTACT
AREA AT TOP
24 HEX. BOLTS TO BOLT UP LOAD CELLS AT TOP
7
26 HEX. BOLTS TO BOLT DOWN LOAD CELL AT BOTTOM
30 BASE PLATE
32 REFERENCE PLATE
34 LOAD CELL BOLT DOWN ARRANGEMENT
36 BASE FRAME FIXED & WELDED VERTICAL SIDE
PLATE ALONG WIDTH
38 BASE FRAME LOOSE VERTICAL SIDE PLATE ALONG
LENGTH
40 TRIANGULAR WELDED RIBS
42 LOOSE VERTICAL SIDE PLATE BOLTING
ARRANGEMENT
44 HEX. BOLTS FOR HOLDING DEPRESSION BARS
48 HEX. NUTS FOR HOLDING DEPRESSION BARS
52 HEX. BOLTS FOR LOOSE VERTICAL SIDE PLATES
54 HEX. NUTS & BOLTS FOR GROUTING OF BASE FRAME
OR BASE FRAME GROUND ANCHORS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
In response to aforementioned, the present invention herein provides for a
novel hybrid bending plate apparatus and mechanism that is used for
weighing 5 moving vehicles.
The hybrid bending plate apparatus for weighing moving vehicles
comprising of a base frame that is fixed on the road, a first hybrid bending
plate installed on the road in level with ground surface wherein said first top
10 plate is fitted with load cells; a second hybrid bending plate fitted with load
cells installed side by side to the said first top plate on the road in level with
8
ground surface to cover the width of traffic lane to weigh individual axle of
moving vehicles; wherein the load cells are mounted between the base
frame and said plates hybrid bending plates to transfer load on all the load
cells, and load cells are configured to produce electric signal proportional to
the force applied by the wheels of axle of the passing vehicle; 5 a junction
box configured to add the signals generated from said load cells and to feed
them to a weight controller; wherein all the load cells are connected in
parallel in the junction box; a weight controller configured to amplify the
electrical signal produced by the load cells and convert them into digital
10 form to provide weight information of the passing vehicle, wherein the
output of the load cells is fed to the weigh controller through the junction
box.
Figure 1 shows top view of assembled Hybrid Bending Plate (2) with both
15 deck and base frame in assembled position. The Hybrid bending plate (2)
sits on top of load cells (16) as shown in Figure 2. The base frame is fixed
into concrete using nuts and bolts (54) as shown in figure 8.
In one of the embodiment of the invention the Hybrid bending plate is low
20 profile single piece mild steel casted Plate.
In another embodiment of the invention the hybrid bending plate apparatus
has four load cells per plate.
25 In yet another embodiment of the invention the hybrid bending plate
apparatus has eight load cells per lane.
In yet another embodiment of the invention the load cells are double ended
shear beam type.
30
9
In yet another embodiment of the invention the hybrid bending plates
evenly distribute load on all load cells.
Two such plates rest side by side in each lane as shown in Figure 3. At the
bottom of the apparatus there is Base plate (30) that is fixed 5 on the road and
a top plate (2) fitted with four double ended shear beam type load cells (16)
as shown in Figure 4.
The Apparatus comprises at least two such hybrid bending plates (2) that
10 are installed side by side on the road in level with ground surface to cover
the width of traffic lane to weigh individual axle of moving vehicles as
shown in Figure 3. Two hybrid bending plates are used in a standard 3-
meter-wide lane. For wider lane no. of plates can accordingly be increased
with each plate resting on 4 load cells.
15
In yet another embodiment of the invention the hybrid bending plate
apparatus is installed on lane with width of equal to or greater than 3 meter.
In yet another embodiment of the invention the number of hybrid bending
20 plates vary with the width of the lane.
Load cells (16) are mounted between the base frame and the hybrid bending
plates (2) for producing electrical signals proportional to the force applied
by the wheels of axle of the passing vehicle. The load cells are connected
25 through load cell cable as shown in Figure 10. As shown in Figure 10
through a conduit pipe for load cell cable output of all load cells (16) is
added in the junction box and fed to a common controller.
As shown in Figure 2 Reference Plate (32) is used to strengthen load
30 sensing area of the apparatus. Bottom of the Load cell (16) is bolted into
10
base frame and top of the load cell is bolted in Hybrid bending plate (2).
Figure 5 is showing load cell bolt up area (18) i.e. load cell contact area at
top that comes in contact with the moving vehicle. Vehicle weight is
transferred to load cell though load cell contact area (18). Further figure 5
shows projected ribs (4) at bottom side of hybrid 5 plate along width,
projected flat ribs (6) at bottom mid span of hybrid plate and projected flat
tie ribs/bar (8) in between projected ribs (4).
Hybrid plate (2) is having stepped up holes for bolting load cells (16) as
10 shown in Figure 6 and 7. Hex. Bolts (24) are used to bolt up load cells (16)
at top and hex bolts (26) are used to bolt down load cells (16) at bottom as
shown in Figure 9. As shown in Figure 1 vertical side plate/s (38) along the
length are used to prevent entry of concrete in pit region at the time of base
frame grouting. The base frame vertical side plate/s (38) are loose and not
15 fixed or welded. The base frame vertical side plate/s (38) are fixed using the
hex. bolts (52) as shown in Figure 1.
At the edges of the hybrid bending plate (2) there are Depression Bars (10).
Each depression bar (10) is having plurality of stepped holes to hold
20 depression bar through bolts (44) (as shown in figure 6) and Nuts (46).
Figure 6 also shows the rubber strips (14) over which depression bars (10)
are bolted. Depression bar (10) sits on depression bar seat angle (12) that
are fixed at base frame as shown in Figure 4. The depressions bars (10) are
locked by base frame vertical side plate/s (36) along width as shown in
25 Figure 1. The base frame vertical side plate/s (36) are fixed & welded.
The base frame loose vertical side plate/s (36 and 38) are bolted together by
loose vertical side plate bolting arrangement (42).
11
As the axle of the vehicle passes over the platform, force exerted by the
wheels of vehicle is sensed and measured by the load cells (16) in the form
of analog output (mV). These load cells (16) give linear mV output
proportional to the force applied by the wheels of the Vehicle.
5
In yet another embodiment of the invention at one time one axle is weighed
on the plates.
The electrical signal produced by the load cells (16) are added in a common
10 junction box and fed to a common controller. Combined electrical output
signal produced by the load cells is amplified and converted into digital
form to display weight information of the passing vehicle in weight
Controller. Weight calculation is done by weighing controller software. The
Weight information is transmitted by the weight controller on TCP/IP or
15 serial port and is used in application software for data/record storage and
report generation.
In yet another embodiment of the invention the apparatus is configured to
calculate gross vehicle weight by adding the individual axle weight.
20
In yet another embodiment of the invention the apparatus is configured to
calculate the gross vehicle weight after detecting the end of the vehicle.
Depending upon the mode of operation selected in Weigh in Motion
25 controller weight information for individual axle or complete transaction for
a vehicle (that is no. of axles, weight of individual axle and gross vehicle
weight) is transmitted by weigh controller on TCP/IP or serial port and is
used in application software for data/record storage and report generation.
12
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the apparatus comprises one or
more sensors to detect presence, beginning and end of the vehicle such as
IR sensor or inductive loops.
These plates are used to weigh moving vehicles such as 5 trucks at a speed
from 0 km/h till 80 km/h to check if the vehicles are overloaded.
In yet another embodiment of the invention the hybrid bending plates are
having anti skid slotted strips that prevents the moving vehicle from
10 skidding off the hybrid plates.
The description herein is one of the best currently contemplated modes of
carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The present
invention has been described with respect to particularly preferred
15 embodiments. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is
made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the
invention.
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary
embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without
20 departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the
following claims.

We Claim:
1. A hybrid bending plate apparatus for weighing moving vehicles
comprising:
a base plate (30) that is fixed 5 in the road;
a first hybrid bending plate (2) installed on the road in level with
ground surface wherein said first top plate is fitted with load cells
(16);
a second hybrid bending plate (2) fitted with load cells (16) installed
10 side by side to the said first top plate on the road in level with ground
surface to cover the width of traffic lane to weigh individual axle of
moving vehicles;
wherein the load cells (16) are mounted between the base plate (30)
and said plates hybrid bending plates (2) to transfer load on all the
15 load cells, and load cells are configured to produce electric signal
proportional to the force applied by the wheels of axle of the passing
vehicle,
a junction box configured to add the signals generated from said load
cells and to feed them to a weight controller; wherein all the load
20 cells are connected in parallel in the junction box;
a weight controller configured to amplify the electrical signal
produced by the load cells and convert them into digital form to
provide weight information of the passing vehicle, wherein the
output of the load cells is fed to the weigh controller through the
25 junction box.
14
2. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the Hybrid bending plate is low profile single piece mild steel casted
Plate.
3. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in 5 claim 1, wherein
apparatus has four load cells per plate.
4. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
apparatus has eight load cells per lane.
10
5. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the load cells are double ended shear beam type.
6. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
15 the width of lane is equal to or greater than 3 meter.
7. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the no. of hybrid bending plates vary with the width of the lane.
20 8. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at
one time one axle is weighed on the plates.
9. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein
apparatus is configured to calculate gross vehicle weight by adding
25 the individual axle weight.
10. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the hybrid bending plates evenly distribute the load on load cells.
15
11. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the gross vehicle weight is calculated after detecting the end of the
vehicle.
12. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in 5 claim 11, wherein
one or more sensors are employed to detect end of the vehicle.
13. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the hybrid bending plate comprises one or more sensors to detect
10 presence, beginning and end of the vehicle.
14. The hybrid bending plate apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein
such sensor is either IR sensor or inductive loops.