Patent Publication Number: US-10768042-B2

Title: Weigh module with load-transmitting arrangement

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The disclosed invention relates to a weigh module, and especially to a weigh module with a load transmitting arrangement. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In cement industry, metallurgy industry, chemical industry, food processing industry, petrochemical industry or other industries, when a weighed object is weighed, multiple weighing modules are installed under the weighed object, and automatically the weight of the weighed object is measured. When a force, such as an extrinsic wind force or an intrinsic force is applied on the weighed object, a horizontal force and a vertical force are transferred to the weighing module. If a structure doesn&#39;t have a horizontal protection structure and an anti-overturn structure, the weighed object can be moved in any direction, and the weigh module is easily damaged and the working reliability of the weigh module is lowered. 
     Therefore, an improved weigh module is needed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a stable and compact weigh module. 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a weigh module comprises a load cell, a supporting member and a load transmitting arrangement. The supporting member comprises a receiving hole extending vertically and thorough the supporting member. The load transmitting arrangement comprises a connecting member, a bearing member and a rolling ball. The connecting member connects the load cell to the supporting member. One end of the connecting member is fixed to the load cell and another end of the connecting member extends into the receiving hole. The bearing member is disposed in the receiving hole and is fixed to the supporting member. The rolling ball is disposed between the bearing member and the connecting member, whereby the force applied on the supporting member can be transferred to the load cell via the bearing member, rolling ball and the connecting member. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Details of the weigh module according to the invention will be apparent from the description of the embodiments that are illustrated in the drawings, wherein 
         FIG. 1  represents an assembled, perspective view of the weigh module; 
         FIG. 2  represents an exploded, perspective view of the weigh module; 
         FIG. 3  represents a sectional view of the supporting member; 
         FIG. 4  represents a partial sectional view of the weigh module; 
         FIG. 5A  represents an enlarged view of A in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 5B  represents an enlarged view of B in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  represents a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONS 
       FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  illustrates a weigh module  100 , which comprises a load cell  4 , a supporting member  1  used for installing a weighed object, a load transmitting arrangement  2 , a seat plate  5  for mounting the load cell  4 , a guiding member  6 , a sealing member  3  and a plurality of bolts.  FIG. 1  also represents the weigh module in the set-up for use position where the seat plate is at the bottom to contact with the ground and the supporting member on top for installing under the weighed object. 
     With reference to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the supporting member  1  comprises a cylindrical body portion  12 , a rectangle mounting portion  11  connecting with the body portion  12  and a receiving hole  13  extending vertically and through the supporting member  1 . The receiving hole  13  comprises a cylindrical first receiving space  131 , a cylindrical second receiving space  132  set above the first receiving space  131 , a cylindrical third receiving space  133  set above the second receiving space  132  and a cylindrical forth receiving space  134  set above the third receiving space  133 . The third receiving space  133  has thread  1331  in it. The first receiving space  131 , the second receiving space  132 , the third receiving space  133  and the forth receiving space  134  have the same axis, and the diameter of the second receiving space  132  is bigger than that of the first receiving space  131 , the diameter of the third receiving space  133  is bigger than that of the second receiving space and the diameter of the fourth receiving space  134  is bigger than that of the third receiving space  133 . 
     The load cell  4  is a beam load cell. The load cell  4  comprises a fixed end  41  fixed to the seat plate  5  and a movable end  42  moving vertically relative to the fixed end  41 . The movable end  42  comprises a fixing hole  421  extending vertically and thoroughly and two blind holes  422  set on the upper face of the movable end  42 . Two first bolts  71  go through the load cell  4  and fix the load cell  4  to the seat plate  5 . 
     The seat plate  5  comprises a base plate  52  and a connecting plate  51  disposed between the load cell  4  and the base plate  52 . The first bolts  71  go through the load cell  4  and the connecting plate  51  and fix the load cell  4  to the base plate  5 . The connecting plate  51  comprises a rigid portion  511  and a rubber layer  512  disposed on the surface of the rigid portion  511  so that a metal-to-metal connection is avoided. The height of the rubber layer  512  is about 20% higher than the height of the rigid portion  511  so that a good sealing property is obtained. For obtaining a good washing property, there is a oblique surface  521  in the upper surface of the base plate  51 . 
     Further with reference to  FIG. 4 , the load transmitting arrangement  2  comprises a bearing member  21 , a connecting member  23  connecting the supporting member  1  to the load cell  4  and a rolling ball  22  disposed between the bearing member  21  and the connecting member  23 . In a preferred embodiment, the rolling ball  22  is a steel ball. 
     The bearing member  21  comprises a cylindrical main body  211  disposed in the third receiving space  133  and a cylindrical end part  212  having the same axis with the main body  211 . The diameter of the main body  211  is smaller than that of the end part  212 . The main body  211  comprises thread on its surface and the end part  212  is disposed in the fourth receiving space  134 . The main body  211  connects with the bearing member  21  by screw joint. When the bearing member  21  is disposed in the receiving hole  13 , the bottom face of the end body  212  contacts with the bottom face of the fourth face  134  (the step face between the fourth receiving space  134  and the third receiving space  133 ) so that a location in the vertical direction is obtained. The bearing member  21  and the supporting member  1  are assembled together by screw joint, the force in the vertical direction applied on the supporting member  1  can be transferred to the bearing member  21  and the water can be prevented from getting into the receiving hole  13  when the weigh module  100  is washed. 
     The bearing member  21  comprises an arc-shaped lower contact surface  213  connecting with the rolling ball  22 . The connecting member  23  comprises an arc-shaped upper contact surface  2321 . When a force is applied on the weighed object and the weighed object wobbles, this structure can assure that the bearing member  213 , the rolling ball  22  and the connecting member  23  can be in a balanced position and the weighed object can&#39;t be fallen down because of loss of balance. In a preferred embodiment, the lower contact surface  213 , the upper contact surface  2321  and the rolling ball are in point contact. 
     The connecting member  23  comprises a fixing end  231  fixed into the fixing hole  421 , a limiting end  232  extending into the second receiving space  132  and a connecting part  233  connecting the limiting end  232  to the fixing end  231 . The fixing end  231 , the limiting end  232  and the connecting part  233  have the same axis, and in the horizontal direction, the limiting end  232  extends outwardly relative to the connecting part  233 , so that the limiting end  232  can prevent the connecting member  23  from passing the first receiving space  131  in the vertical direction when in set-up for use. In a preferred embodiment, the end part of the fixing end  231  has thread on its surface. A screw cap  8  connects with the fixing end  231  by screw joint so that the connecting member  23  is fixed to the load cell  4 . There is a distance b disposed between the bottom face of the limiting end  232  and the bottom face of the second receiving space  132 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, the distance b is 3 mm. When in use, the supporting member  1  is disposed under the weighed object. When a force such as wind force, internal mixing force, airflow force, shake force or others is applied on the weighed object, the weighed object would fall down, and the weighed object would go upwards and the distance b becomes 0 mm. The bottom face of the limiting end  232  contacts with the bottom face of the second receiving space, so a counterforce is generated and the move is stopped. This kind of structure can prevent the weighed object from falling down when a force is applied on the weighing object and a stable property is obtained. 
     A 360 degree limiting space is defined between the first receiving space  131  and the connecting part  233 . When a force is applied on the weighed object in the horizontal direction, the limiting space permits the weighed object to have a small space and can be stopped after a small movement. This kind of structure can prevent the weighed object from falling down. 
     Further with reference to  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , a sealing member  3  is disposed under the supporting member  1 . The sealing member  3  can be fixed to the supporting member  1  by a second bolt  72 . The sealing member  3  is a food-grade silicone. A first rigid part  312  is embedded in the first end  311  of the sealing member  3  and the first rigid part  312  has thread in it. When mounting the sealing member  3 , the second bolt  72  connects with the first rigid part  312  by screw joint and fixes the first end  311  to the bottom face  111  of the supporting member  1 . Because the first rigid part  312  is embedded in the first end  311 , a good sealing property is obtained between the first end  311  of the sealing member  3  and the supporting member  1 . 
     The connecting member  23  goes through the sealing member  3  and extends into the fixed hole  421 . A second rigid part  322  is embedded in the second end  321 . The second rigid part  322  is fixed between the lode cell  4  and the step face  2331  of the connecting member  23 . The height of the sealing member  3  is higher than that of the second rigid part  322 , so that a good sealing is obtained therebetween. In the washing environment, the sealing member  3  prevents the water from getting into the receiving hole  13  and the fixing hole  421  so that the possibility of the microorganism breeding is lowered. A swelled raised portion  323  next to the second end  321  is horizontal arranged in the sealing member  3 . When there is horizontal force applied, because of the elastic character of silicon rubber, the swelled raised portion  323  generates a restoring force that pulls back the displaced supporting member  1  to the center position, which is the best for accuracy. 
     Two limiting portions  3221  are formed on the sealing member  3 . The two limiting portions  3221  are inserted into two blind holes  422  of the load cell  4 , this stops the rotation of the sealing member  3  when tighten the fixing end  231 , and makes sure the sealing member  3  is always aligned with the load cell&#39;s axis. In a preferred embodiment, the limiting portions  3221  are formed on the second rigid part  322 . 
     Further with reference to  FIG. 6 , the weigh module  100  can further comprise a guiding member  6  fixed to the supporting member  1 . The guiding member  6  comprises a guiding space  61  extending vertically and two parallel inner faces ( 611 ,  612 ) are defined in the guiding space  61 . The connecting member  23  extends into the guiding space  61  and connects with the two inner faces ( 611 ,  612 ). In other embodiment, there is a small distance between the connecting member  23  and the two inner faces ( 611 ,  612 ). The weigh module  100  can sustainably move in a direction parallel to the inner faces ( 321 ,  322 ) in the horizontal direction, and the weigh module  100  can&#39;t move in the direction perpendicular to the inner faces ( 611 ,  612 ). In the preferred embodiment, the guiding member  6  is a ring-shaped structure, and the contact between the guiding member  6  and the connecting member  23  is a point contact. The guiding space  61  and the two parallel inner faces ( 611 ,  612 ) can also be defined by the supporting member as a one piece design of the supporting member  1  and the guiding member  6 . 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various alterations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without in any way departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.