Patent ID: 7861979

Claim:
A dragging equipment detector, comprising: a rotatable striker shaft of a length defined between a support mount end and a composite leaf spring mount end; the striker shaft having a plurality of striker paddles coupled thereto; each paddle coupled to the striker shaft such that when in operation each paddle maintains a generally vertical position when at rest; the striker shaft rotateably coupled to a support mount at the support mount end such that the striker shaft is axially rotatable; the striker shaft rotateably coupled to a composite Leaf spring at the spring mount end; and the striker shaft coupled to a sensor at either the spring mount end or the support shaft end; wherein the composite leaf spring comprises: a pair of spring rollers mounted to spring retainers, the spring retainers extend from the spring end of the striker shaft; a composite spring rigidly mounted so that when the spring is at rest, the striker shaft is rotated such that the striker paddles are in a generally vertical position; and the composite leaf spring rigidly mounted such that when at least one striker paddle not in the generally vertical position the striker shaft rotates and the roller shafts and the spring rollers cause the composite spring to hold a force.