Apparatus for measuring the action of forces between wheeled vehicles and substructure

Claim 1

An apparatus incorporated in a wheeled motor vehicle for measuring and indicating coefficient of friction values for driving and braking vehicles on a substructure, said measuring apparatus comprising: at least one control panel, arranged in the vehicle, with a plurality of control means for selection and control of a measuring sequence; at least one measuring wheel pivotally mounted in the vehicle so as to be raisable and lowerable to engage and disengage said substructure, said wheel engaging the substructure at least during said measuring sequence, and said wheel rotating when engaged with said substructure with an amount of slip relative the speed of the wheeled vehicle; at least one force measuring transducer mounted to said vehicle including means for sensing the forces and/or torque acting on the measuring wheel and generating signals corresponding thereto; at least one vehicle speed measuring transducer mounted to the vehicle including means for sensing the speed of the vehicle and generating a pulsed signal corresponding thereto; at least one electronic unit including a memory for storing a plurality of preset measuring distances, said unit being mounted to the vehicle, and further including means for receiving and processing signals generated by said force measuring transducers and said speed measuring transducers, and in response thereto transmitting output signals to a plurality of instruments displaying the measuring results; and a plurality of controls mounted to said vehicle including means for selecting measuring distances of different length, each control triggering, when actuated, the switching in circuit of a first signal value preselected to represent the measuring distance in question in said memory, said electronic unit including means for comparing said first signal with a second signal value generated by summing up signal pulses generated by said vehicle speed transducer and representing the distance travelled by the vehicle during said measuring sequence, and wherein said electronic unit also includes means for triggering discontinuation of said measuring sequence when said first and second signal values are equal.

Claim 2

An apparatus incorporated in a wheeled motor vehicle for measuring and indicating coefficient of friction values for driving and braking vehicles on a substructure, said measuring apparatus comprising: at least one control panel, arranged in the vehicle, with a plurality of control means for selection and control of a measuring sequence; at least one measuring wheel pivotally mounted in the vehicle so as to be raisable and lowerable to engage and disengage said substructure, said wheel engaging the substructure at least during said measuring sequence, and said wheel rotating when engaged with said substructure with an amount of slip relative the speed of the wheeled vehicle; at least one force measuring transducer mounted to said vehicle including means for sensing the forces and/or torque acting on the measuring wheel and generating signals corresponding thereto; at least one vehicle speed measuring transducer mounted to the vehicle including means for sensing the speed of the vehicle and generating a pulsed signal corresponding thereto; at least one electronic unit including a memory for storing a plurality of preset measuring distances, said unit being mounted to the vehicle, and further including means for receiving and processing signals generated by said force measuring transducers and said speed measuring transducers, and in response thereto transmitting output signals to a plurality of instruments displaying the measuring results; and a plurality of controls mounted to said vehicle including means for selecting measuring distances of different length, each control triggering, when actuated, the switching in circuit of a first signal value preselected to represent the measuring distance in question in said memory, said electronic unit including means for comparing said first signal with a second signal value generated by summing up signal pulses generated by said vehicle speed transducer and representing the distance travelled by the vehicle during said measuring sequence, and wherein said electronic unit also includes means for triggering discontinuation of said measuring sequence when said first and second signal values are equal.