US 12,031,854 B2
Monoblock sensor body and method of its manufacturing
Daniel Reber, Madetswil (CH); and Christoph Lang, Schwerzenbach (CH)
Assigned to Mettler-Toledo GmbH, Greifensee (CH)
Filed by Mettler-Toledo GmbH, Greifensee (CH)
Filed on Mar. 23, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/701,878.
Claims priority of application No. 21164802 (EP), filed on Mar. 25, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0307889 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. G01G 11/00 (2006.01); B26F 3/00 (2006.01)
CPC G01G 11/003 (2013.01) [B26F 3/004 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A monoblock sensor body of a load cell based on an electromagnetic force compensation mechanism, the sensor body comprising:
a Roberval mechanism, comprising:
a fixed column;
a movable column;
an upper beam;
a lower beam, parallel to the upper beam, wherein the upper beam and lower beam are each connected by a first flexure point section to the movable column and by a second flexure point section to the fixed column, thereby defining a first upper, a second upper, first lower and second lower flexure point section;
a lever arrangement that is coupled to the movable column on a first side by a coupling and that is connectable on a second side to the electromagnetic force compensation mechanism, the lever arrangement having at least one lever, each lever associated with a fulcrum;
a plurality of mounting portions for mounting the fixed column to a housing side of a weighing module, directly or indirectly via an intermediate arrangement, and/or for mounting a load receiving member to the movable column, directly or via an intermediate arrangement, wherein at least one of the mounting portions comprises at least one mounting hole that extends preferably at least predominantly orthogonal to a load direction, especially along a length direction of the upper beam and the lower beam, each mounting hole comprising an inner thread such that, in a mounted state, a mating outer thread of a fixing screw that is screwed into the mounting hole up to an axial threading end configured to be screwed into the mounting hole, with each mounting hole having one of the flexure point sections as a relatively closest flexure point section; and
at least one cavity, each cavity associated with one of the mounting portions and reducing an available solid angle of a straight propagation path that runs from the inner thread to at least one of: the closest flexure point section, a coupling and the closest fulcrum,
wherein, for each cavity, a closing material boundary of the body closes the cavity over at least a bridging width versus the height-side end of the body corresponding to the closest flexure point section.