Vehicle mounted load indicator system

Claim 1

A load indicator system for a wheel supported vehicle having an air bag suspension component between the vehicle undercarriage and a load carrying frame of the vehicle, said system comprising: a valve for mounting on a vehicle frame member and in communication with a source of air pressure of a value for air bag inflation, said valve having an exhaust port; first conduit means in communication with said valve and the air bag suspension component; second conduit means in communication with said first conduit means; said valve having a control arm having a distal end for attachment to an undercarriage component of the vehicle; said valve operable upon control arm displacement from a preset position to increase air pressure in said air bag component or decrease in pressure in said component to raise or lower the vehicle frame relative said undercarriage component to maintain a predetermined vertical distance between the vehicle frame and the undercarriage component; pressure responsive means in communication with said second conduit means and producing a signal; a readout display responsive to said signal to provide a numerical display of the load carried; memory means in communication with said pressure responsive means for storing a plurality of selectable tables for converting the signal produced by said pressure responsive means into weight data within a table, each table associated with the surface area of a different-sized air bag suspension component; and means in communication with said memory means for selecting from the plurality of tables the table associated with the surface area of the air bag suspension component for the vehicle, the weight data from the selected table provided to the readout display.