GB2278444A

GB2278444A - Measuring device for obtaining a volume related measurement

Info

Publication number: GB2278444A
Application number: GB9309141A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sidney Cheng
Original assignee: Advanced Technology Ltd
Current assignee: Advanced Technology Ltd
Priority date: 1993-05-04
Filing date: 1993-05-04
Publication date: 1994-11-30
Also published as: GB9309141D0

Abstract

A device for obtaining a volume related measurement of an article, comprises movable measuring means 16 for measuring each dimension of the article, signal generating means 24 responsive to movement of the measuring means for generating a signal representative of the distance moved by the measuring means and hence of the dimension of the article, means for storing the generated signals, and means for calculating the volume related measurement of the article in accordance with the stored signals. <IMAGE>

Description

Measuring; Device This invention relates to a measuring device and more particularly to a device for obtaining a volume related measurement, such as the dimensional weight or the volume, of an article, such as a parcel.

The dimensional weight of an article is a notional weight of the article calculated at least to some extent in accordance with the dimensions of the article and more particularly but not necessarily exclusively calculated from the dimensions of the article assuming that the article is of uniform predetermined density.

Airline freight forwarding businesses generally bill customers in accordance with the weight of a parcel.

Airlines, on the other hand, tend to bill the freight forwarding businesses in accordance with the space occupied. Thus, the airline freight forwarding businesses can make a loss on parcels containing low density articles. Some airline freight forwarding businesses first weigh a parcel and then take a subjective view as to whether the parcel is large for its weight. If it is, the parcel is then measured using a tape measure and the dimensional weight is calculated for costing purposes.

This is a labour intensive exercise and because any decision to measure the dimensions of a parcel is based on the subjective view of an operator, errors inevitably occur.

The present invention seeks to provide a device for conveniently obtaining a volume related measurement, such as the dimensional weight, of an article.

According to the present invention, there is provided a device for obtaining a volume related measurement of an article, comprising movable measuring means for measuring each dimension of the article, signal generating means responsive to movement of the measuring means for generating a signal representative of the distance moved by the measuring means and hence of the dimension of the article, means for storing the generated signals, and means for calculating the volume related measurement of the article in accordance with the stored signals.

Preferably, the movable measuring means comprises at least one rotatable member, such as an elastomeric roller, which can be drawn across the surfaces of the article.

Preferably, the device further comprises support means, an arm connected to the support means for pivotable movement between first and second positions, the rotatable member being supported for rotation by said arm, and spring means urging the arm towards its first position, the arm being pivotable from its first position towards its second position against the urging force of the spring means by pressing the roller against a surface of the article. The device may also comprise means for detecting pivotable movement of the arm between its first and second positions and between its second and first positions. In this case, the detecting means may be a microswitch.

Preferably, the signal generating means comprises a light source, a light sensor, and a member which is provided with a plurality of transparent or translucent windows and which is movable between the light source and the light sensor. The movable member may be a rotatable disc, particularly if the movable measuring means comprises at least one rotatable member.

Advantageously, a step up gear train is provided between the movable measuring means and the signal generating means.

Preferably, the device is provided in a hand holdable body. In this case, the body, conveniently, comprises a first body part housing the signal generating means, the storing means and the calculating means and a second body part supporting the movable measuring means, the second body part being detachable from the first body part for ease of replacement. The body may also include a battery compartment, and where said first and second body parts are provided, this is preferably in said first body part.

Preferably, the device further comprises a display, e.g.

an LCD display, for displaying each dimension of the article and the volume related measurement of the article.

In this case, the device may comprise means whereby an operator can enter a signal confirming that a dimensional measurement is to be accepted. Additionally or alternatively, the device may further comprise means whereby an operator can cancel a dimensional measurement.

Typically, the device measures the dimensional weight of an article.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of one embodiment of a measuring device according to the invention, Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the device shown in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a vertical section taken through the device shown in Figure 1, Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken through the device shown in Figure 1, with the board carrying the signal generating means shown offset for clarity, Figure 6 is a plan view of the pulse generating means, on an enlarged scale, Figure 7 is a front view of the pulse generating means, also on an enlarged scale, Figure 8 is a block diagram of the electronic circuit of the measuring device, and Figure 9 is a flow chart showing the way in which the measuring device operates.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 5 of the drawings, the measuring device shown therein comprises a hand holdable body 10 having a main body part 11 and a smaller body part 12.

The body part 12 houses two arms 13 which are secured together to define a carriage and which are mounted for pivotable movement about axis 14. At one end, the arms 13 support a shaft 15 for rotation. Rollers 16 are fixed to opposite ends of the shaft 15 and project from and below the body part 12. The rollers 16 are formed of elastomeric material. The other end of one of the arms 13 bears against a lever 17 pivoted in the body part 12 about axis 18. A plunger 19 loaded by a spring 20 is also mounted in the body part 12 and bears against the end of the lever 17 remote from the axis 18. The spring loaded plunger 19 urges the lever 17 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 4. This in turn moves the arms 13 so that the rollers 16 adopt a lowermost position, as shown in Figure 4.

Instead of relying on the spring 20 to move the arms 13 so that the rollers 16 adopt a lowermost position, a separate return spring (not shown),e.g. a torsion spring, may be provided to urge the arms 13 towards this lowermost position.

A microswitch 21 is mounted in the body part 11 and is aligned with the plunger 19. When the rollers 16 are pressed against an article, the arms pivot clockwise, as viewed in Figure 4, and this in turn causes the lever 17 to pivot counterclockwise and the plunger 19 to project through aligned apertures in the body parts 11 and 12 to operate the microswitch 21.

The body part 10 houses a rechargeable nickel-cadmium battery 22 in battery compartment 23, and signal generating means 24 and electronic processing circuitry 25, including a CPU 25a with internal memory, a direction detector and pulse pickup gate 25b, and a voltage detector 25c, on a board 26. The body part 10 also has a display 27 which may be an LCD display, an enter button 28, a reset button 29, green and red light emitting diodes 30, and an on/off switch 9 (shown in Figure 8).

As shown best in Figures 6 and 7, the signal generating means 24 comprises a thin rotatable disc 31 provided with a multiplicity of windows formed by slits 32, two light emitting diodes 33 and two light sensors 34. The light emitting diodes 33 (and associated sensors 34) are offset with respect to one another about the axis of the disc 31 and each provide a beam of light perpendicular to the face of the disc 31. When this light beam is opposite a slit 32, the light passes through and is received by the associated light emitting diode 33. As the disc rotates so the slit moves on and the light beam is cut off by the disc material between the slits so that no light is received by the sensor. Therefore, as the disc rotates each sensor 34 produces a pulsed signal and the angular displacement of the disc 31 can be measured by counting the number of pulses.

The provision of two light emitting diodes 33 (and associated sensors 34) also enables the electronic circuitry 25 to detect the direction of rotation of the rollers 16 and prevent any to and fro motion of the rollers 16 from being added together to produce an inaccurate result. Indeed, the circuitry 25 actually deducts angular displacement in one direction from angular displacement in the other direction to produce a correct measurement even if the operator does move the rollers to and fro during the course of movement across one surface of the article.

The rollers 16 are connected to the disc 31 by a gear train 35 having a step up ratio preferably in the range between 1:9 and 1:15, and typically of 1:10. The gear train 35 comprises five gears 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 supported by, and mounted for rotation relative to, the carriage defined by the arms 13 in the body part 12 and a sixth gear 41 which is mounted for rotation on the board 26 in the body part 11. The first gear 36 is fixed to the shaft 15 and the sixth gear 41 is connected to the disc 31 by a shaft 42 supported in a bearing block 43. The gear 40 moves only slightly during pivotal movement of the arms 13 and this gear 40 always remains in engagement with gear 41.

The signal generating means 24 will thus produce a signal representative of the angular displacement and direction of rotation of the rollers 16.

The operation of the measuring device will now be described with reference to Figure 9 of the drawings.

Firstly, the switch 9 is turned on. The voltage detector 25a detects battery voltage. If the battery voltage is high enough, the red light emitting diode 30 is illuminated. If the battery voltage is too low, the red light emitting diode 30 is not illuminated and the battery 22 should be replaced. The rollers 16 are then pressed against the edge of a surface of an article, e.g. a parcel, to be measured. The microswitch 21 is activated by the plunger 19 and this in turn enables the direction detector and pulse pick-up gate 25b and illuminates the green light emitting diode 30. The rollers 16 are then drawn across the surface of the article to measure a first dimension of the article. When the rollers 16 reach an opposite edge of the surface of the article, pressure on the rollers is released and the microswitch 21 is deactivated.This disables the direction detector and pulse pick-up gate 25b so that further rotation fo the rollers 16 will not produce an inaccurate result. The first dimension of the article is calculated by the CPU 25a from the number of pulses generated by the signal generating means 24 and this dimension is displayed on display 27. If the operator is satisfied that the device has been drawn properly across the full extent of the article, the enter button 28 is depressed and the measurement is stored in memory. The second and third dimensions of the article are measured in similar manner and when the enter button 28 is depressed for the third time to confirm that the third dimensional measurement is to be accepted, the CPU 25a calculates the dimensional weight of the article according to a predetermined formula and displays this on display 27.If the operator is not satisfied with any dimensional measurement, the reset button 29 is depressed instead of the enter button 28.

This cancels the last dimensional measurement taken.

Typically, the formula used to calculate the dimensional weight is: D = L1 x L2 x L3 F where D = dimensional weight L1, L2 and L3 = length, width and height, respectively, of the article F = a preset factor selected by the airline freight carrier The measuring device is provided with an 8-digit dipswitch 44 so that a preferred value of F can be selected by an airline freight carrier in accordance with previous practice of the carrier and to enable the carrier to select imperial or metric units of measurement.

When a measuring operation has been completed, the reset button 29 is depressed and the device is then ready to measure another article.

The device will also provide statistical information by depressing the enter and reset buttons 28 and 29 simultaneously and then depressing the enter button 28 to display firstly the number of articles measured, then the average volume of the articles measured and finally the average dimensional weight of the articles measured.

Also, the device has a review facility for reviewing the three dimensions of the last article measured. To operate the review facility the enter button 28 is depressed to display each dimension before depressing the reset button 29 at the completion of a measuring operation.

The measuring device described above provides a convenient way of obtaining the dimensional weight of articles. It is easy to use and will give reliable results. Airline freight forwarding businesses can use it to measure the dimensional weight of all articles thus resulting in more accurate billing.

The measuring device may have other applications and could, for example, be used to measure the approximate volume of articles.

The embodiment described above is given by way of example only and various modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, instead of using one or more rollers to measure each dimension of the article, it would be possible to use an extendible/retractable tape having windows therein so that the extent to which the tape is extended is obtained by signal generating means similar to that described above.

Claims

1. A device for obtaining a volume related measurement of an article, comprising movable measuring means for measuring each dimension of the article1 signal generating means responsive to movement of the measuring means for generating a signal representative of the distance moved by the measuring means and hence of the dimension of the article, means for storing the generated signals, and means for calculating the volume related measurement of the article in accordance with the stored signals.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the movable measuring means comprises at least one rotatable member which can be drawn across the surfaces of the article.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising support means, an arm connected to the support means for pivotable movement between first and second positions, the rotatable member being supported for rotation by said arm, and spring means urging the arm towards its first position, the arm being pivotable from its first position towards its second position against the urging force of the spring means by pressing the roller against a surface of the article.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, further comprising means for detecting pivotable movement of the arm between its first and second positions and between its second and first positions.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the detecting means comprises a microswitch.

6. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the signal generating means comprises a light source, a light sensor, and a member which is provided with a plurality of transparent or translucent windows and which is movable between the light source and the light sensor.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the movable member is a rotatable disc.

8. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a step up gear train is provided between the movable measuring means and the signal generating means.

9. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, provided in a hand holdable body.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the body comprises a first body part housing the signal generating means, the storing means and the calculating means and a second body part supporting the movable measuring means, the second body part being detachable from the first body part for ease of replacement.

11. A device as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the body includes a battery compartment.

12. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a display for displaying each dimension of the article and the volume related measurement of the article.

13. A device as claimed in claim 12, further comprising means whereby an operator can enter a signal confirming that a dimensional measurement is to be accepted.

14. A device as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13, further comprising means whereby an operator can cancel a dimensional measurement.

15. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising means for reviewing the dimensions of the last article measured at the completion of a measuring operation.

16. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprises means for providing statistical information on a plurality of articles measured.

17. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the volume related measurement is the dimensional weight of the article.

18. A device for obtaining a volume related measurement of an article, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.