JPH01269019A - Car height detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily recognize the state of the load loaded on a car by reading the position of a scale indicated by a pointer, which changes in accordance with a change in the relative position between the scale and pointer produced when the load changes and the cylinder moves following the change in load. CONSTITUTION:Either one side of a cylinder 8 and piston coupled with each other in the axial direction in a relatively movable state is coupled with an axle side and the other side is coupled with a read body side and, at the same time, a position measuring means composed of a scale 16 and pointer 17 is provided between the cylinder 8 and piston. Moreover, one side of the members constituting the position measuring means is provided on a piston rod 11 which moves together with the piston in a united state and comes out from and gets into the cylinder 8 and the other side is provided on the cylinder 8 side. When the load changes, accordingly, the relative interval between the axle and car body change, the cylinder 8 and piston are relatively displaced and, following the relative displacement, the relative position between the pointer 17 which is displaced together with either one of the cylinder 8 and piston and the scale 16 which is displaced together with the other one changes and, as a result, the position of the scale 16 indicated by the pointer 17 moves. Therefore, when the scale 16 is read, the state of the load can be recognized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION ``Industrial Application Field'' The present invention relates to a vehicle height detection device for an automobile, and in particular to a vehicle height detection device suitably used for measuring the loading capacity of a truck or the like.

"Prior Art" Conventionally, when trying to judge whether the loading capacity of a truck, etc. is being complied with, or to measure the amount of loading and unloading of cargo, a large scale is prepared and the scale is placed on the scale. It was necessary to drive the vehicle into the area and actually measure its weight.

"Problem to be Solved by the Invention" However, the above measurement can be carried out on the premise of the existence of a large scale that can measure weights of several tons to several tens of tons. It is necessary to go to a so-called weighing station, which requires a lot of time and cost, and it is also difficult to quickly measure the loaded weight at a place where you want to know the loaded weight, such as at a checkpoint or highway gate. There is a problem.

The present invention was proposed in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to measure the live load without going to a so-called weighing station.

"Means for Solving the Problems" In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides that one of a cylinder and a piston connected to be relatively movable in the axial direction is placed on the axle side of a vehicle, and the other is placed on the loading platform of the vehicle. A position measuring means consisting of a scale member and a pointer member is provided between the two, and one of the members constituting the position measuring means moves integrally with the piston to protrude and retract from the cylinder. Provided on the piston rod side,
The other one is provided on the cylinder side.

"Operation" With the above configuration, the relative distance between the axle and the vehicle body changes due to a change in the live load, causing a relative displacement between the cylinder and the piston. The relative position of the pointer that moves and the scale that is displaced integrally with the other changes, and the position of the scale indicated by the pointer moves.

"Embodiment" Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

First, the configuration of a vehicle (truck) to which the present application is applied will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Wheels 2 are provided at the front and rear of this truck l. The frame 5 is supported via. Further, a loading platform 6 is provided on the frame 5, and predetermined cargo can be loaded onto the loading platform 6.

Further, a gas spring 7 is provided between the leaf spring 4 and the loading platform 6, which expands and contracts in response to the relative displacement thereof.

The structure of the gas spring 7 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. This gas spring 7 has a cylinder 8.
The basic configuration is such that a piston 9 is slidably inserted therein, and a compression spring 1o provided at the bottom of the cylinder 8 biases a piston rod 11 integrated with the piston 9 in the direction of protruding from the cylinder 8. ing. And the cylinder 8 has a bottom plug 12 at its lower part.
and a seal 1 provided on the top.
3, the sliding surface with the piston rod 11 is sealed and gas is accommodated therein. Further, the piston 9 is provided with a flow passage 14 passing through the piston 9 in the vertical direction, and the fluid resistance of the gas passing through the flow passage 14 exerts a damping force during expansion and contraction operations. Further, a load cell 15 is provided between the compression spring IO and the bottom plug 12, and the load cell 15
is the compression spring lO as the gas spring 7 expands and contracts.
It functions as a sensor that detects the expansion and contraction of the gas spring by detecting the force generated in the electrical signal.

Further, a transparent window 16 is fitted into the upper part of the cylinder 8, and a scale 17 is provided on the inner surface of the cylinder inside the window 16. The scale 17 is connected to the cylinder 8 and the piston 9.
The expansion and contraction amount of the gas spring (the amount of movement of the piston 9 ) and display this amount of expansion/contraction,
In other words, the loaded weight is displayed based on the amount of sinking of the vehicle body. In other words, the amount of sinking of the vehicle body can be directly detected using a scale that is equally divided at a predetermined pitch from the minimum value when the load is zero to the maximum value when the load is maximum (or when the load exceeds this value). It has become. Note that the scale 17 may be directly engraved on the transparent window 16 or displayed on the surface of the cylinder 8.

In addition, the reference numeral 19 is a ring-shaped attachment member that fixes the gas spring to the leaf spring 4 and the loading platform 6, respectively, and the reference numerals 20 and 21 are electrically connected members for the cylinder 8 and the piston rod lO that constitute the gas spring. This is a terminal board used when making connections.

With the above configuration, the leaf spring 4 is
The live load can be measured by expanding and contracting the gas spring 7 by increasing and decreasing the amount of deflection, and by displaying this amount of expansion and contraction through a change in the relative position between the pointer 18 and the scale 17.

Note that since the deflection of the leaf spring 4 also changes depending on the dynamic load while the vehicle is running, it is essential that the vehicle is stopped in order to accurately perform the above measurement.

In addition, the distribution of the load to the front, rear, left and right wheels differs depending on the inclination of the vehicle, so in order to accurately determine the load, at least place the vehicle on a horizontal road surface in the front and rear direction, and read the scale 17 on both the left and right sides. That is required.

Further, on the side of the cylinder 8, there is a display section 22 that displays the vehicle height (i.e., the load) according to the vehicle height data based on the data detected by the load cell 15, and a display section 22 that displays the vehicle height (i.e., the load) when the vehicle height is below a predetermined value. A buzzer 23 is provided to audibly notify this when the load exceeds a predetermined value (that is, when the load exceeds a predetermined value).

Next, the configuration of the means for processing the vehicle height data obtained from the load cell 15 will be explained with reference to FIG.

That is, the output signal of the load cell 15 is sent to the A/D converter 3.
0 to the controller 31, the controller 31 calculates the axle load of the rear wheel by adding the signals of the load cells 15 provided on the left and right gas springs, and calculates the axle load data measured in advance, i.e. Multiple threshold values (5 in the case shown) for the axle load between zero load and maximum load (and higher load if necessary)
each step), and each time data exceeding this is obtained, the display driver 32 is operated to display a number of LEDs 22a to 22e corresponding to the number of the above-mentioned threshold values for the load capacity.
It is designed to light up by applying voltage to it.

In addition, when it is determined that the threshold value corresponding to the maximum load is exceeded, the controller 31 detects the vehicle stoppage based on the data supplied from the vehicle speed sensor (indicated road), etc., and displays the display 22. A buzzer 33 is separately connected to a power source to notify overloading by voice.

In other words, when the vehicle is running, a dynamic load is applied to the vehicle, and a load exceeding the threshold value may be detected, and the activation of the buzzer 23 every time this detection is annoying and can also be a source of noise. The buzzer 23 is activated under this condition.

Furthermore, trucks and other vehicles are designed to distribute more load to the rear wheels in order to make steering operations easier; for example, 20% of the load is distributed to the front wheels and 80% to the rear wheels. When trying to judge the live load from the amount of sinking of the rear wheels, it is necessary to correct the detected value based on the load distribution, and this correction is carried out by the controller 31 based on preset load distribution data. It will be held in

Also, since the load distribution between the front wheels and the rear wheels changes depending on whether the vehicle is horizontal, uphill, or downhill, the posture of the vehicle is detected and this detected data is supplied to the controller 31. By correcting the calculated value of the load, or by setting the control conditions of the controller 31 so that the display is performed on the condition that the vehicle is horizontal,
More accurate display can be achieved.

Furthermore, when trying to display the load while driving, the load distribution between the front wheels and the rear wheels differs depending on acceleration and deceleration, so the controller 31
Alternatively, the load may be modified.

Note that the display 22 and the buzzer 23 do not necessarily need to be provided integrally with the gas spring, but may be provided at a location where they can be easily visually confirmed from the outside, or at another location as necessary, such as the driver's seat. You can.

"Effects of the Invention" As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the relative distance between the axle and the vehicle body changes due to a change in the live load, so that the cylinder and the piston are displaced relative to each other.
Along with this, a pointer that is displaced integrally with either one,
The relative position of one of the scales that is displaced integrally with the other changes, and the position of the scale indicated by the pointer moves, and by reading this scale, the state of the live load can be easily grasped. Therefore, you can easily recognize the loaded weight without visiting a weighing station, and can easily check this at places where it is necessary to know the loaded weight, such as checkpoints and expressway toll booths, to avoid accidents. This has the effect of being able to prevent the occurrence of.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a side view of a truck to which the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the location where the detection device is attached, and Fig. 3 is a side view of the same. figure,
FIG. 4 is a side view of the gas spring, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the gas spring, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the vehicle height detection circuit. 3... Axle, 4... Leaf spring, 5...
... Frame, 6... Loading platform, 7...
Gas spring, 8... Cylinder, 9...
...Piston, 10...Compression spring, 11...
... Piston rod, 14 ... Channel, 15
...Load cell, 16...Scale (
scale), 17... pointer, 22...
・Display section, 22a to 22e...LED, 23・
...Buzzer, 31...Controller. Applicant Tokiko Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] One of a cylinder and a piston that are connected to be relatively movable in the axial direction is connected to the axle side of the vehicle, and the other is connected to the loading platform side of the vehicle, and a position measuring means consisting of a scale and a pointer is provided between the two. one member constituting the position measuring means is provided on the piston rod side that moves integrally with the piston and protrudes and retracts from the cylinder, and the other member is similarly provided on the cylinder side. Characteristic vehicle height detection device.