Abstract: A safety fuse link, usable as a serial element of a load lifting line, has a telescoping body held in a short configuration by a linear slip clutch or a shear pin until a selected load on the line is exceeded. The body then extends to a longer configuration in which it is retained as a length unit by abutting surfaces between which an blastomeric shock cushion is positioned. An optional arrangement includes a biasing arrangement to restore the link to the original condition for further use, after the load is reduced.

Abstract: A seat belt tension sensor is attached to a seat belt assembly in a vehicle. The seat belt tensor sensor is secured to the vehicle by a bolt. The sensor includes a housing that is secured by the bolt. An anchor plate is mounted to the housing. The anchor plate has a hole for the bolt and an opening. A strain gage is secured to the housing and extends into the opening. The strain gage has an aperture. A spring is located between the anchor plate and the strain gage. An actuator support is located between the spring and the strain gage to actuate the strain gage. The actuator has a projection extending through the aperture that contacts the anchor plate. The projection prevents a shift in the output of the strain gage when the sensor is subjected to mechanical shock.

Abstract: A coating adhesive strength and shear strength measuring apparatus is provided which can measure both the adhesive strength and the shear strength of the coating of a test piece at higher accuracy while its structure being simple and inexpensive.

Abstract: An apparatus (210) includes seat belt webbing (12), a parallelogram linkage (220), a sensor lever (370), and a sensor (379). The seat belt webbing (12) helps to protect the occupant (14) of the vehicle (18). The parallelogram linkage (220) includes a first beam (352) and a second beam (362) parallel to the first beam (352). The first and second beams (352, 362) each bend in response to at least part of a load applied by the seat belt webbing (12). The sensor lever (370) is interposed between the first and second beams (352). The sensor lever (370) has a connection with the first and second beams (352). The connection causes the sensor lever (370) to deflect upon bending of the first and second beams (352). The sensor (379) senses the deflection of the sensor lever (370) and provides an output signal indicative of the amount bending of the first and second beams (352, 362).

Abstract: A system for determining whether sutures and/or bone anchors satisfy some minimum strength threshold. The system includes a handle that contains a sensor for measuring forces or loads (e.g., a strain gauge), an indicator, and a controller. The controller is coupled to the sensor and the indicator. During use, a surgeon installs an anchor into a patient's bone. To test the strength of the anchor, the sensor is connected to the anchor preferably by some mechanical linkage, such as a rod or shaft. The surgeon then pulls on the handle. By pulling on the handle, a corresponding force is applied to the anchor through the mechanical linkage. As the surgeon pulls, the controller receives a signal from the sensor that is proportional to the force or load being applied to the anchor. The controller compares the sensor signal with some pre-determined threshold.

Abstract: The displacement of a shackle 2, which is coupled with a main rope 1 hanging an elevator car, caused in accordance with the loading capacity of the car is converted through a wire 5 into the rotary motion of a pulley 100 which has a rotating surface positioned substantially in a vertical posture, and an acceleration sensor 110 for detecting the angle of rotation of said pulley is fixedly secured to said pulley, so that the loading capacity of the car is detected from the angle of rotation of said pulley.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for measuring a load of a hoisting apparatus, where electricity is used as the driving force and a squirrel cage motor as the hoisting motor for moving a load attached to a hoisting member of the hoisting apparatus substantially in the vertical direction. The method and arrangement are employed to determine air gap torque of the hoisting motor, which describes the load of the hoisting apparatus, utilizing magnetization flux of the hoisting motor determined on the basis of the current, supply voltage and stator winding resistance of the hoisting motor. The value of the air gap torque is compared with an air gap torque curve determined for the hoisting apparatus at known reference loads to determine the load that corresponds to the air gap torque in question.

Abstract: A seat belt tension sensor for measuring the magnitude of tension in a seat belt. The seat belt tension sensor has a housing with a cavity. An anchor plate has a portion located in the cavity. The housing moves relative to the anchor plate between a first position and a second position. A sensor is mounted to the housing. The housing presses on the sensor as the housing moves from the first to the second position. The sensor generates an electrical signal in response to the housing moving between the first and second positions. The electrical signal changes as a function of tension on the seat belt. The sensor is a strain gage. The housing engages the anchor plate in the second position to protect the sensor from damage in a vehicle crash situation.

Abstract: The method is intended for setting the force limiters of a lifting appliance equipped with a winch-type lifting mechanism (8), the electric motor of which is controlled by a variable-speed drive unit ensuring regulation of the drive torque. This method involves: mounting a direct-reading or remote-reading balance (23) between the lifting hook (5) and a fixed point (27), placing the lifting mechanism in a “setting” mode, displaying desired values for the limitation of the nominal drive torque, commanding the lifting function in the raising direction by means of the control of the said electric motor and reading the tensile force values (F) supplied by the balance (23). The invention applies more particularly to the setting of the force limiters on tower cranes.

Abstract: The method for testing burnishing tape includes placing the tape on a backing surface and applying a force normal to the abrasive surface of the tape in a localized area of the tape surface. Thereafter, an increasing pulling force is applied to the end of the tape up to a point where the tape moves under the effect of the normal force. Through prior burnishing tape product testing a known normal force N is determined and a delamination pulling force D is likewise determined, such that a burnishing tape can be said to be defective where it is placed under a normal force N and the pulling force required to move it is less than the delamination pulling force D. The values of N and D are determinable for different types of burnishing tape and thereafter utilizable to test further quantities of similar burnishing tape.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring tensile and bending forces applied to a fat-line towed-array. Tension sensors are configured within a modified fat-line towed-array bulkhead to measure axial tension applied to the front of the fat-line towed-array, while bending sensors mounted further downstream along the fat-line canister interior walls, measure the bending load. The sensor outputs are encoded and digitized before transmitted through a tow line for further data conditioning and processing. The tension and bending sensor data provide information to evaluate the force exerted on the towed-array, allowing a measure of the deployment capability. Measurements taken at various fluid flow rates provide data regarding deployment effectiveness.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for measuring a load of a hoisting apparatus, where electricity is used as the driving force and a squirrel cage motor as the hoisting motor for moving a load attached to a hoisting member of the hoisting apparatus substantially in the vertical direction. The method and arrangement are employed to determine air gap torque of the hoisting motor, which describes the load of the hoisting apparatus, utilizing magnetization flux of the hoisting motor determined on the basis of the current, supply voltage and stator winding resistance of the hoisting motor. The value of the air gap torque is compared with an air gap torque curve determined for the hoisting apparatus at known reference loads to determine the load that corresponds to the air gap torque in question.

Abstract: A drag setting device is provided for setting a desired drag on a fishing line. The drag setting device includes a cable, line, or other fastening member which can be attached to a fishing line of a fishing rod and reel. The drag setting device further includes a pulling member for pulling the fishing line towards the drag setting device, a first actuator for selecting the amount of tension applied by the drag setting device to the fishing line, and a second actuator for causing the drag setting device to apply the selected tension to the fishing line. In use, the drag setting device is mounted to a stationary object such as a work bench or a gunnel of a boat. The end of a fishing line is then attached to the cable, line or other fastening member of the fishing rod and reel. Then, as one person holds the fishing line, the drag setting device pulls against the fishing line until the selected tension is reached. The drag on the fishing line is then set utilizing the conventional mechanisms on the rod and reel.

Abstract: Apparatus for suppressing the operation of a vehicle restraint system when a child's seat is mounted in a vehicle car seat. The seat belt is connected by two plates to a vehicle anchor. One plate is stretchable, the other non-stretchable. A low seat belt load does not stretch either plate. A higher load stretches the stretchable plate until the belt load is transferred to the non-stretchable plate.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring the force applied to a thin-line towed array having a towed array hose formed as part of a thin-line towed array. Coupling components divide the interior of the towed array hose into compartments. Axial tension measurement devices are located within one compartment, and bend measurement devices are located in another compartment. These measurement devices are electrically connected to a digitization and encoding module which is in turn connected to a processing device for providing measurements of the forces on the array.

Abstract: A method of, and apparatus for, detecting level and blockages in an ore pass or other near-vertical shaft is described. The level and blockage detector includes a flexible metal strip in which a plurality of strain gages have been located, spaced apart from one another, preferably at known distances. A plurality of anchors secure the metal strip to the interior surface of the shaft such that the metal strip is displaced a fixed distance from the interior surface. The anchors are located intermediate the strain gages. When the ore pass fills up with bulk material, the bulk material causes the metal strip to deflect toward the interior surface of the shaft. This causes the resistance of the strain gage in the region of the deflection to change. To detect the location of the blockage, a microcontroller cycles through each strain gage, placing it as the fourth arm of a bridge circuit.