Ground assessment
US6983643B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 26, 2001 |
| Grant date | Jan 10, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 26, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2203/0623
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
For assessing ground quality, such as a condition of a racetrack, a handheld device has a shaft, a plate mounted to its bottom end, and a sensor body also mounted to the bottom of the shaft, independently of the plate. A tine tip projects below the sensor body. The sensor body has compression sensors and shear sensors. The user pushes down on the shaft. The tine tip penetrates the ground until the plate abuts the surface. Continued pushing leads to a compression reading. The user then pushes the top of the shaft so that it tilts, pivoting about an edge of the plate. Shear forces are sensed by the shear sensors. The compression and shear data pass to a data processor that computes a single value indicative of the ground quality.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.