FIELD OF INVENTION The invention relates to a monitoring system. More particularly, the invention relates to a system for measuring and monitoring payload weight of a road vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Payload is defined to be the load carried by a vehicle exclusive of what is necessary for its operation. A typical method of determining the payload weight of a road vehicle is by driving it onto a weight bridge and then calculates the difference in weight between before and after the payload has been released. Alternatively, portable weight scales can be placed under the tires of the vehicle to obtained instantaneous axle weight and subtracting against a registered axle load when the load is being emptied. Nevertheless, these method of measurement could only provide weight information at the location of measurement and it is not monitorable in real time.

Therefore, a need exist for the existing technologies to provide means for enabling the weight measurement to be performed in real time and a method for collecting the measurement data via internet of things. The present invention provides such a system and apparatus thereof.

PRIOR ART

EP2072294A1 discloses a method and system for detecting the payload acting on the axles of a vehicle, in particular an industrial vehicle with elastic suspension, which correlates to its deformation by means of measuring the height of the chassis with respect to the axle upon which each of said suspension operates. The measurement apparatus is a sensor attached on a hinged bar mechanism in one end.

US4215754A discloses a system for measuring the load carried by a vehicle of the type employing a leaf spring suspension. In a leaf spring suspension an elongated spring is supported between a pair of spaced apart hangers on each side of the vehicle. The hangers are then secured to the vehicle frame. An axle extends transversely beneath the vehicle and is clamped to the center of the springs. The measuring system includes four spaced apart strain gauges mounted on the upper surface of the spring beneath the axle clamp equidistant from the center of the spring. The strain gauges are connected to each other in a bridge configuration, and they measure the strain of the springs responsive to vehicle loading.

US5681998A discloses a vehicle load measuring device comprises a slide plate mounted on the upper surface of an axle case, a load of the vehicle applied through a leaf spring onto the slide plate, the slide plate including a setting portion at an inner surface; and a sensing member fitted into and fixed to the setting portion.

US4478091A discloses a load monitoring arrangement for a vehicle axle comprises a bolt which in use is fixedly mounted on a vehicle body and is connected with a resilient suspension part so that the body is connected with the suspension part through the intermediary of the bolt. A transducer is secured to the bolt so as to monitor the effect of loading forces acting thereon.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The invention provides a system for monitoring movements between the chassis or vehicle body and the axle of a road vehicle comprises a sensor unit disposed between the chassis or vehicle body and the axle; characterised in that the system includes a joint that provides multiple degrees of freedom in movement of the sensor unit to compensate for lateral movements.

In one embodiment of the invention, the joint can be formed by a head portion of a shaft extended from the sensor unit and the head portion is rotatable and/or movable within a socket in the chassis or vehicle body and/or the axle.

In another embodiment of the invention, the sensor unit may include the sensor unit includes a body having a sensor module and a magnet slidable in parallel to each other. Preferably, the body may has a pair of spaced channels arranged in parallel therewithin, one channel containing the magnet and the other containing the sensor module, wherein the sensor module and the magnet are slidable along their corresponding channels. Preferably, the sensor module and the magnet are each connected to a shaft protruding outwardly from the body to the joint. Yet in another embodiment of the invention, the sensor unit can be connected to a microcontroller, configured to correlate vehicle load data using a load against deflection chart. The microcontroller can be also linked to a vehicle tracking system via a communication network, configured to transmit the vehicle load to the vehicle tracking system. Preferably, the vehicle tracking system is configured to determine the location of the road vehicle, and it is able to obtain vehicle parameters.

Preferably, the vehicle tracking system includes an analytic module to provide tools for analysing the received data. Preferably, the vehicle tracking system includes a web-based server or mobile based server for logged-in users to access the data.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments described herein are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawing the preferred embodiments from an inspection of which when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation and many of its advantages would be readily understood and appreciated.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a sensor device for measuring the payload of a road vehicle. Fig. 2 is another schematic diagram illustrating a system for collecting and managing data produced by the sensor device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings.

Referring to Fig. 1, a sensor device 1 for use in measuring payload of an operational road vehicle as illustrated therein comprises an enclosure 4 having a magnet 6 and a sensor module 5 being spaced apart and slidable within the enclosure 4 in a parallel manner so that the two 5, 6 can have a relative linear freedom of movement within the enclosure 4. Alternatively, the enclosure 4 can have a pair of inner channels extending longitudinally therewithin, the channels are spaced apart and arranged in a parallel manner, one channel containing the magnet 6 and the other containing the sensor module 5, in which the sensor module 5 and the magnet 6 are slidable along their corresponding channels. Preferably, the sensor module 5 is a Hall Effect sensor that outputs varied voltage in response to a magnetic field where the sensor module 5 and the magnet 6 are found.

A road vehicle usually consists of a vehicle body resting on chassis frame being supported on top of an axle 3 via springs or shock absorbers. As such, the sensor module 5 is preferably connected to the chassis or vehicle body 2 via a first shaft and the magnet 6 is connected to the axle 3 via a second shaft to detect the spring's movements. When the vehicle is loaded, there will be displacement between the chassis or vehicle body 2 and the axle 3 which will cause the magnet 6 to move lengthwise relative to the sensor module 5. The sensor module 5 responds to a magnetic field, and then outputs a specific voltage to the microcontroller 9. When the vehicle is in operation, spring lateral movements will also come into the picture. As a result, it will reduce the accuracy of the sensor device 1 in measuring the payload. In order to accommodate the spring lateral movements, at least one universal joint 7, 8 is employed to join the shafts to the chassis or vehicle body 2 and/or the axle 3. The joint 7, 8 can be in the form of a ball head on the free end of the shaft having multiple degrees of freedom in movements within a socket in the chassis or vehicle body 2 and/or the axle 3. The socket can be a slot allowing the ball head to rotate within. The universal joint 7, 8 is suitable for any types of springs as it allows multiple degrees of freedom at the connection portion and the relative linear freedom at the sensor device 1. Non-linearity of the springs' deflection can also be solved by correlation to specific spring's characteristics. Preferably, it is in the form of load against deflection chart to sensor's linear movement.

Referring to Fig. 2, the system for collecting and managing data as illustrated therein comprises the sensor device 1, a microcontroller 9, a vehicle tracking system (VTS) 13, a cloud-based user interface server 15. The microcontroller 9 is connected to the sensor device 1, configured to compute the actual load data 12 by comparing the displacement data with the load against deflection chart 11 via a processor 10. The load data 12 is then transmitted to the VTS 13 via a communication network. The communication network can be a Global System for Communication (GSM) network, local wireless network, Data Rates for GSM evolution, 3G, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) cloud, 3 GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the like. The VTS 13 may comprise one or more heavy duty computers for processing and transferring the received data from the microcontroller 9, and any known devices or group of devices to provide sufficient capacity for storing data. An analytic module 14 can be provided to the VTS to perform different analysis on the load data 12. The VTS 9 can also determine the location of the vehicle, as well as collecting vehicle specific parameters. The user interface server 15 can be in the form of a web-based or mobile based platform where a graphical user interface is provided for users to retrieve data from the VTS 13 and display the outputs. The outputs may include data relating to the current/historical information of the location or payload of one or more vehicles. A map can be generated to show the location of the vehicle, or other interested information, and its corresponding payload.

The present disclosure includes as contained in the appended claims, as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.