Apparatus for controlling the regulator of a device for spreading salt or the like on roads

Abstract

Abstract An apparatus for controlling the regulator of a device for spreading salt and the like onto road surfaces, the apparatus comprising: a sensor for measuring the temperature of liquid on the road surface; a collector for liquid removed from the road surface, adapted for operation on a moving vehicle; a device operatively associated with the collector for measuring the concentration of salt in the collected liquid; and, a device operatively associated with the collector for measuring the quantity of liquid present per surface unit area of the road, based upon the quantity of collected liquid and a measured factor related to movement of the vehicle along the road, whereby sufficient information is available from the apparatus for regulation of a device for spreading salt and the like to achieve a salt concentration on the road surface just sufficient to avoid freezing at any predetermined tempertaure and for any predicted quantity of precipitation. The factor related to movement of the vehicle includes vehicle speed or distance travelled. The collector may comprise a suction device carried by the vehicle. The apparatus may comprise a common measuring chamber for housing the salt concentration and liquid quantity measuring devices. The liquid collector and liquid quantity measuring devices may be operated intermittently. The apparatus may be connected directly to a spreader device for automatically controlling the spreader, or may be connected to a display enabling manual control of the spreader.

Inventors

• 👤 Otto P. Braun

Bibliographic Details