Load cell

Claim 1

A LOAD CELL OF THE TYPE ADAPTED TO MEASURE FORCE APPLIED THERETO BY MEASURING ITS OWN DISTORTION IN RESPONSE TO SUCH FORCE COMPRISING END PORTIONS TO WHICH AN AXIAL FORCE MAY BE APPLIED AND AN INTERMEDIATE FORCE MEASURING PORTION INCLUDING A PAIR OF LONGITUDINAL TRANSVERSELY SPACED WALL MEMBERS INTERCONNECTING SAID END PORTIONS, ALL OF INTEGRAL ONE-PIECE CONSTRUCTION, SAID WALL MEMBERS BEING MATERIALLY THINNER IN THE DIRECTION OF THEIR TRANSVERSE SPACING THAN LATERALLY OF THEMSELVES AND ADAPTED TO FLEX OPPOSITELY OF ONE ANOTHER IN RESPONSE TO SAID AXIAL FORCE, A LIGHT SOURCE AND LIGHT-SENSITIVE DETECTOR MEANS LOCATED WITHIN SAID DEVICE, LIGHT CONTROL MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE LIGHT SOURCE AND THE DETECTOR MEANS AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF TRANSVERSELY OVERLAPPING PARALLEL PLATE MEMBERS, ONE ATTACHED TO EACH OF SAID WALL MEMBERS WHEREBY OPPOSITE FLEXING OF THE WALL MEMBERS TRANSLATES SAID PLATE MEMBERS RELATIVELY, SAID PLATE MEMBERS HAVING CORRESPONDING LIGHT-TRANSMITTING AREAS NORMALLY DISPOSED IN PARTIAL LIGHT-TRANSMITTING REGISTRY WHEREBY RELATIVE TRANSLATION OF THE PLATE MEMBER VARIES SAID REGISTRY TO CONTROL THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT TRANSMITTED TO SAID DETECTOR MEANS, AND CALIBRATED FORCE INDICATION MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID DETECTOR MEANS.