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38 notes March 2011 2 tags
The Biker And The King Of England (Day 4) bobbyelvisbakesale:
Last two scenes. What? I did say that he wasn’t in this movie very much. Better than nothing.
And that’s all. Everything else will have to be left to the imagination. In the meantime, I’m just trying to think of what else to do next. Guess I’ll have to do some digging…
The Biker And The King Of England (Day 3) bobbyelvisbakesale:
Tommy on ESP and the meaning of life, the universe and everything (but no Douglas Adams. Sorry.).
This is why I cant have nice things.... aequitas—:
Kelsey I blame you…
btw my story centers around Lorcan O’Toole’s character BWAHAHAHA see if you can remember who that is…if you do I shall give you a cookie
Chibs meeting up with his nephew Padraic again.
The Biker and the King Of England... (Day 1, Part... bobbyelvisbakesale:
Long scene means more pics.
Bobby Elvis' Bake Sale: The Biker and the King Of... →
bobbyelvisbakesale:
Tommy Flanagan has been in a lot of bad movies. Yet again, this is not one of them. Sure, he wasn’t in this movie very much but he was still quite good. His character bears his name sake and became of my favorite Flanagan characters for three reasons: a)he was cute (not sure about the hair…
Standing on the corner... bobbyelvisbakesale:
It bothers me that he was only in one very short scene. There…now that’s out of the way, it can still be remedied by featuring him a lot in Sunday’s episode. In the meantime, I will admit that Michigan winter complements Big Al well. When Hulu posts the clip of the scene he was in, I’ll add it on later (warning: he toned down the accent). Wearing all those clothes,...
Tonight…The man comes to Detroit.
…and next week Mar 15th
Zen And The Art Of The Hitman...(Part 1) bobbyelvisbakesale:
As much as I like the caps of Swifty And Veg from the Casting Couch, there were two small problems with them. Firstly, they were too small for my liking and secondly, there wasn’t enough of them so I thought I’d give it a go. These are just the close up shots of Tommy though. Didn’t want to go too overboard again. I tend to do that.
White turtlenecks and Scotch accents...(Part 3) bobbyelvisbakesale:
I’m still debating whether he can pull off that turtleneck or not. At least he looks better than that other guy (the fact that he’s not wearing an earring helps).
Trust me, it’s a lot funnier than it looks…plus you get to learn several new slang words and get a glimpse into the Scots way of life circa 1996 (he did this after Braveheart). Next up: more Shield caps of...
White turtlenecks and Scotch accents... bobbyelvisbakesale:
Good times. I said I’d put them up sooner or later and I guess it’s sooner. Here are the caps from Tommy’s Scottish sitcom appearance as-you guessed it-a criminal on a show called Rab C. Nesbitt (the episode is entitled “Lottery” and you can watch it here, here and here).

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DownWithTyranny!: How Many Democratic Senators Joined Wall Street And The GOP To Screw Bank Customers?
How Many Democratic Senators Joined Wall Street And The GOP To Screw Bank Customers?
Just before Tuesday's vote to further gut Dodd-Frank and open the U.S. up to another bankster greed-driven economic catastrophe, Orange County law professor and congressional candidate Katie Porter wrote to her supporters that "As a consumer protection attorney, I've spent nearly 20 years fighting powerful special interests like Wall Street lobbyists. I've collaborated extensively with Elizabeth Warren on ways to protect the middle class from being scammed by powerful institutions and corporations. Unfortunately, I have to alert you to a new attack on consumers coming later this week. The Senate is days away from voting on a bill called the 'Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act,' though the actual bill will do none of those things. This bill would roll back or eliminate key protections that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act put in place after Wall Street's recklessness caused a global recession. I'm urging the Senate to Vote NO on this legislation."
Porter is running in CA-45 for a seat held by Wall Street shill Mimi Walters. But before she can take on Mimi, she has to get through another Wall Street shill, New Dem, Dave Min, who ran Chuck Schumer's Wall Street operation when Schumer was working hand-in-glove with the banksters to set them loose on consumers. Schumer has taken more in bribes than any other politician in American history who was not a presidential candidate-- and more than some presidential candidates. As of now Schumer the Finance Sector has given Schumer $26,754,908, compared to $12,338,704 to McConnell and $12,165,694 to Paul Ryan... so more than both of them together! Min has been part of Schumer's "success" in that scheme.
Which candidates are being backed by Wall Street this cycle? It's worth noting which non-incumbents they're making their biggest contributions to so far. Of course their biggest bribes in the House went to half a dozen crooked incumbents who are already serving their every interest:
• Speaker Ryan (R-WI)- $2,649,603
• Majority Leader McCarthy (R-CA)- $1,500,400
• Josh Gottheimer (Blue Dog-NJ)- $871,524
• Patrick McHenry (R-NC)- $867,506
• Kevin Brady (R-TX)- $867,225
• Kyrsten Sinema- $792,137
Of course, these 5 men and one woman should all be in prison but these are the crooked politicians who aspire to be just like them and are already taking large bribes as banksters bet on their chances to be able to kick their own constituents to the curb while carrying Wall Street's water. Austin Frerick, the progressive candidate running for the Iowa congressional seat occupied by GOP money grubber David Young, cut right to the chase: "I cannot believe that Democrats can support this bank deregulation bill after what we went through as a country a decade ago. But this is what happens when Democrats take money from corporations and lobbyists. This is also why I refuse that money."
David Gill's primary is coming up in less than two weeks. He's been fighting for the kind of economic fairness Elizabeth Warren is talking about for decades, not just for his campaign. “As is almost always the case on such issues, I stand with Senator Warren here. It amazes me that our elected representatives have so quickly forgotten the financial crisis which brought so much pain to so many ordinary Americans only 10 years ago. I suspect that those representatives never actually felt the pain, given their place in life. The ordinary men and women that make up the majority of IL-13 certainly did feel the pain of that recession, and they are the ones who will be hit hardest by a recurrence of our economic woes. The regulations within Dodd-Frank should be strengthened, not weakened. I look forward to getting to Washington early next year and working to protect Americans from bankers whose greed knows no bounds.”
The half-dozen worst non-incumbent candidates(so far):
• Josh Harder (D-CA-10)- $229,094
• Perry Gershon (D-NY-01)- $222,866
• Dan Koh (D-MA-03)- $199,818
• Mikie Sherrill (New Dem- NJ-11)- $178,578
• Pat Ryan (D-NY-19)- $171,879
• Matt Haggman (D-FL-27)- $158,790
It's essential to stick with progressives like Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) on this issue and to support candidates like them-- like Katie Porter, Austin Frerick and David Gill. Mimi Walters (R-CA) has already gobbled up $400,108 from the Finance Sector this year. David Young (R-IA) has taken $124,350 and Rod Davis (R-IL) took $174,652-- just this cycle!
The only other California candidate besides Josh Harder to have taken over a hundred grand from the finance sector is the sleaze bag in CA-49, Mike Levin, who has managed to vacuum up $124,232. Wall Street knows who they can count on. And it isn't Elizabeth Warren. In fact, when Mark Takano was strong-arming California convention delegates to vote for Dave Min, one of his arguments was that no one endorsed by Elizabeth Warren could win in Orange County. Strange thing for a progressive to say. Here's Elizabeth Warren talking about the bill Katie Porter was campaigning against this week:
[H]ere we are-- on the verge of making the same mistake Congress has made so many times before.
The banks don't want you to know what's in this bill-- because if you did, they know you'd fight back. It was written by Senators in back rooms and jammed through the Banking Committee, where its authors voted down every single amendment, every single idea, to make the bill even one smidge better or protect consumers just one tiny bit more. They voted against every amendment, even if they agreed with it, because Republicans and Democrats had locked arms to do the bidding of the big banks.
There's a lot of dangerous stuff in this bill. Today I want to focus on the harm it will do to America's consumers.
But I'll start with what's not in the bill because what's not in this bill should make Congress ashamed. Strong consumer protections. Banks get their wish list, but consumers get next to nothing. This bill is called the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, but in all 148 pages, there's only a few watered down provisions that help consumers.
Equifax loses data for nearly half of all adults in America, lies about it, and this Congress-these Senators-still can't manage to pass a bill with some teeth to hold the company accountable. That says it all-this is a bill written by big banks to help big banks, not a bill to help American families who are still getting cheated by the companies that make huge profits off them.
So what's actually in this bill? Start with the first part of the bill-- Section 101, "Improving Consumer Access to Mortgage Credit."
When you get a mortgage, your lender usually spends some time combing through your financial records to make sure you can repay the loan. That's good-- American families don't want to take out loans they can't afford and banks don't want to make loans that won't get repaid.
Before the financial crisis, that whole process went haywire. Lenders were making crazy loans with ballooning payments and exotic features that consumers didn't understand. Lenders didn't care if customers could repay-they got their fees up front, then sold the loans to distant investors and the original lender was long gone before the homeowners got in trouble. But the families were stuck. Eventually, the payments skyrocketed, and homeowners who couldn't keep up defaulted, losing those homes. After the crisis, Congress changed the rules. They told lenders that they had to start underwriting their loans again to protect consumers and the economy. But since this takes time and money, Congress told the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to write a rule that says that there's no need for the lender to investigate if this is a super-safe, boring, plain-vanilla loan.
But Section 101 of this bill is not reasonable. It takes the CFPB rule and stretches it in all directions, tearing open big, dangerous loopholes. This bill says banks, have some fun. Bring back the greatest hits of financial crisis housing scams. Scoop up the profits on the front end, and leave families holding the bag on the back end.
I understand breaks for banks that make straightforward loans, but these loans are too risky. And they come at a bad time. Rising interest rates mean that exotic products like adjustable rate mortgages are making a comeback. Bank lobbyists are dragging us back to the bad old days when banks had free reign to scam consumers.
Here's another section: Section 104 makes it harder to enforce anti-discrimination laws by telling loads of institutions that they don't have to comply with a law called the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, or "HMDA." HMDA requires most financial institutions to tell the public and the CFPB who they're lending to and at what rates and terms. Regulators and law enforcement use the data to make sure that American families don't have a harder time getting a loan because of who they are or where they come from.
This bill takes a sledgehammer to HMDA by exempting 85 percent of institutions from reporting HMDA data. If this bill passes, there will be entire communities where there will be no data whatsoever-- which means there will be no ability to monitor whether people are getting cheated because of their race or their gender.
Again, this couldn't come at worse time. Lending discrimination is real. A new comprehensive report that looked at housing markets all over the country just came out from the Center for Investigative Reporting and Reveal, and its findings should make us all sick to our stomachs.
In 2015 and 2016, nearly two-thirds of mortgage lenders denied loans to people of color at higher rates than for white people. According to Reveal, in the Washington metro area. "In 2016, Native American applicants were 2.3 times as likely to be denied a conventional home mortgage as white applicants. For black applicants, it was 2.2 times as likely. For Latino applicants, it was 1.9 times as likely. For Asian applicants, it was 1.6 times as likely." The Reveal report showed that this problem happens in giant banks, but also in small banks.
Here's the thing. None of that analysis would have been possible without HMDA data from big institutions and small ones. Without the data, we'd all be sitting here in the dark, maybe wondering if some mortgage lenders discriminated against African Americans or women or Native Americans, but we wouldn't have any way to know-and no way to change it if they were. Gutting HMDA allows us-- actually forces us-- to look the other way when discrimination happens. And that's disgraceful.
...Only a bunch of bank lobbyists-- and their friends in Washington-- would call this a consumer protection bill.
American families weren't in the back room when this bill was written. They don't have millions of dollars in campaign cash to get senators' attention. They don't keep an army of lobbyists on their payroll. No, American families are busy going to work, helping the kids with homework and trying to catch up on a thousands things. They are trying to pay off student loans or maybe to save a little for their kids to go to college. Some are trying to put aside a few bucks for a mortgage.
They trust us to stand up for them and make sure they have a fair shot at homeownership-- at the American dream. And they trust us to make sure that we're not turning over the keys to our economy to the same people who crashed it ten years ago and ran over a bunch of American families on the way.
I know we're outnumbered, but this fight isn't over. Make no mistake, I'm going to do whatever I can to convince enough other senators that this is a bad deal for American families, and a dangerous one. I'll push and tug and talk to anyone who will listen about how this bill will hurt the people we were sent here to represent. And maybe, just maybe, maybe for once the Senate will start listening to voters instead of donors.
Labels: Austin Frerick, Dave Min, Elizabeth Warren, Katie Porter, Wall Street reform
They're the Crapo Democrats!
Does nobody remember 2009? Does nobody know that both dodd and frank took millions from wall street? Does nobody remember how much support wall street gave to obamanation? the Clintons? scummer?
Truthfully, if the bill needed more democraps, it would have gotten them. Probably 3 in 4 of those NOT voting for it would have if needed. Once the bill already had enough to pass, the democraps COULD vote no, if only to impress their stupid, gullible electorates.
Wall street doesn't write 9-figure checks for nothing you know.

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Preon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In particle physics, preons are "point-like" particles, conceived to be subcomponents of quarks and leptons.[1] The word was coined by Jogesh Pati and Abdus Salam in 1974. Interest in preon models peaked in the 1980s but has slowed as the Standard Model of particle physics continues to describe the physics mostly successfully, and no direct experimental evidence for lepton and quark compositeness has been found.
Note that in the hadronic sector there are some intriguing open questions and some effects considered anomalies within the Standard Model. For example, four very important open questions are the proton spin puzzle, the EMC effect, the distributions of electric charges inside the nucleons as found by Hofstadter in 1956, and the ad hoc CKM matrix elements.
4 Rishon model
5.1 The mass paradox
6 Conflicts with observed physics
Within the Standard Model, there are several different types of particles. One of these, the quarks, has six different types, of which there are three varieties in each (dubbed "colors", red, green, and blue, giving rise to quantum chromodynamics). Additionally, there are six different types of what are known as leptons. Of these six leptons, there are three charged particles: the electron, muon, and tau. The neutrinos comprise the other three leptons, and for each neutrino there is a corresponding member from the other set of three leptons. In the Standard Model, there are also bosons, including the photons; W+, W−, and Z bosons; gluons and the Higgs boson; and an open space left for the graviton. Almost all of these particles come in "left-handed" and "right-handed" versions (see chirality). The quarks, leptons and W boson all have antiparticles with opposite electric charge.
The Standard Model also has a number of problems which have not been entirely solved. In particular, no successful theory of gravitation based on a particle theory has yet been proposed. Although the Model assumes the existence of a graviton, all attempts to produce a consistent theory based on them have failed. Additionally, mass remains a mystery in the Standard Model. Additionally Kalman [2] notes that according to the concept of atomism, the fundamental building blocks of nature are invisible and indivisible bits of matter that are ungenerated and indestructible. Quarks are not indestructible, some can decay into other quarks. Thus on fundamental grounds- quarks must be composed of fundamental quantities-preons. Although the mass of each successive particle follows certain patterns, predictions of the rest mass of most particles cannot be made precisely, except for the masses of almost all baryons which have been recently described very well by the model of de Souza.[3] The Higgs boson explains why particles show inertial mass (but does not explain rest mass).
The Standard Model also has problems predicting the large scale structure of the universe. For instance, the SM generally predicts equal amounts of matter and antimatter in the universe, something that is observably not the case. A number of attempts have been made to "fix" this through a variety of mechanisms, but to date none have won widespread support. Likewise, basic adaptations of the Model suggest the presence of proton decay, which has not yet been observed.
Preon research is motivated by the desire to explain already known facts (retrodiction), which include
To explain the three generations of fermions.
To calculate parameters that are currently unexplained by the Standard Model, such as particle masses, electric charges, and color charges, and reduce the number of experimental input parameters required by the Standard Model.
The desire to make new nontrivial predictions, for example, to provide possible cold dark matter candidates.
Other names which have been used for these proposed fundamental particles (or particles intermediate between the most fundamental particles and those observed in the Standard Model) include prequarks, subquarks, maons,[4] alphons, quinks, rishons, tweedles, helons, haplons, Y-particles,[5] and primons.[6] Preon is the leading name in the physics community.
Efforts to develop a substructure date at least as far back as 1974 with a paper by Pati and Salam in Physical Review.[7] Other attempts include a 1977 paper by Terazawa, Chikashige and Akama,[8] similar, but independent, 1979 papers by Ne'eman,[9] Harari,[10] and Shupe,[11] a 1981 paper by Fritzsch and Mandelbaum,[12] and a 1992 book by D'Souza and Kalman.[1] None of these has gained wide acceptance in the physics world. However, in a recent work[13] de Souza has shown that his model describes well all weak decays of hadrons according to selection rules dictated by a quantum number derived from his compositeness model. In his model leptons are elementary particles and each quark is composed of two primons, and thus, all quarks are described by four primons. Therefore, there is no need for the Standard Model Higgs boson and each quark mass is derived from the interaction between each pair of primons by means of three Higgs-like bosons. In his 1989 Nobel Prize acceptance lecture,

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Patent US20070039400 - Platform balance - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsThe present disclosure is directed to a platform balance that is suitable for transmitting forces and moments in a plurality of directions. The platform balance is adapted to support a test specimen, such as a large vehicle, in a test environment such as a wind tunnel. The platform balance includes a...http://www.google.com/patents/US20070039400?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20070039400 - Platform balanceAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20070039400 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 11/501,665Publication dateFeb 22, 2007Filing dateAug 8, 2006Priority dateDec 4, 2003Also published asUS7788984, US7918143, US20100326206, WO2008021007A2, WO2008021007A3Publication number11501665, 501665, US 2007/0039400 A1, US 2007/039400 A1, US 20070039400 A1, US 20070039400A1, US 2007039400 A1, US 2007039400A1, US-A1-20070039400, US-A1-2007039400, US2007/0039400A1, US2007/039400A1, US20070039400 A1, US20070039400A1, US2007039400 A1, US2007039400A1InventorsRichard Meyer, Douglas Olson, Ian KunschOriginal AssigneeMts Systems CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManReferenced by (5), Classifications (8), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetPlatform balance
US 20070039400 A1Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to a platform balance that is suitable for transmitting forces and moments in a plurality of directions. The platform balance is adapted to support a test specimen, such as a large vehicle, in a test environment such as a wind tunnel. The platform balance includes a frame support and at least three spaced-apart transducers coupled to the frame support. Each of the transducers is sensitive about two orthogonal sensed axes. The transducers cooperate to provide signals indicative of forces and moments with respect to at least two orthogonal axes. Each transducer includes a transducer body having a support coupled to a sensor body along an axis of compliance. The sensor body is adapted to deflect about the two orthogonal sensed axes where the sensed axes are mutually orthogonal to the axis of compliance. Images(13) Claims(26)
1. A platform balance suitable for transmitting forces and moments in a plurality of directions, the platform balance comprising: a frame support; and at least three spaced-apart transducers coupled to the frame support, each transducer sensitive about two orthogonal sensed axes wherein the at least three spaced-apart transducers cooperate to provide signals indicative of forces and moments with respect to at least two orthogonal axes. 2. The platform balance of claim 1 wherein the frame support includes a first perimeter frame and a second perimeter frame, and wherein the at least three spaced-apart transducers include four spaced-apart transducers coupling the first perimeter frame to the second perimeter frame. 3. The platform balance of claim 2 and further comprising a first set of flexures coupled to the first perimeter frame and adapted to engage a ground support, and a second set of flexures coupled to the second perimeter frame and adapted to engage a test specimen. 4. The platform balance of claim 3 wherein the second set of flexures are coupled to a belt frame adapted to engage a wheeled test specimen. 5. The platform balance of claim 2 wherein each transducer comprises a sensor body coupled to the second perimeter frame and a support coupled to the first perimeter frame, the sensor body being coupled to the support wherein the support is compliant in an axis of compliance, wherein the axis of compliance is orthogonal to a sensed axes of each transducer. 6. The platform balance of claim 5 wherein the support comprises two clevis halves disposed on opposite sides of the sensor body along the axis of compliance. 7. The platform balance of claim 6 wherein the first perimeter frame is coupled to the two clevis halves. 8. The platform balance of claim 5 wherein the support includes a single clevis disposed on a side of the sensor body along the axis of compliance. 9. The platform balance of claim 2 wherein the first and second perimeter frames include box beams. 10. The platform balance of claim 2 wherein the first and second perimeter frames are nested. 11. The platform balance of claim 2 wherein the frame support includes a stiffening frame coupled to the transducers. 12. The platform balance of claim 11 wherein the stiffening frame is directly coupled to the first perimeter frame. 13. A transducer body, comprising: a support; and a sensor body coupled to the support along an axis of compliance, wherein the sensor body is adapted to deflect along two orthogonal sensed axes, and wherein the sensed axes are mutually orthogonal to the axis of compliance. 14. The transducer body of claim 13 wherein the support includes a pair of clevis halves disposed on opposite sides of the sensor body and along the axis of compliance. 15. The transducer body of claim 13 wherein the sensor body includes a generally rigid peripheral member disposed about a spaced-apart central hub, wherein at least three flexure members couple the peripheral member to the central hub, and wherein the flexure members are spaced-apart from each other at generally equal angle intervals about the central hub. 16. The transducer body of claim 15 wherein the sensor body includes four flexure members. 17. The transducer body of claim 15 wherein the central hub is coupled to the support. 18. The transducer body of claim 13 wherein the sensor body is adapted to receive a plurality of sensors. 19. The transducer body of claim 13 wherein the support includes a compliant member and the transducer body further comprises a second sensor body disposed on a side of the compliant member opposite the first-mentioned sensor body and along the axis of compliance. 20. The transducer body of claim 14 wherein the clevis halves are rigid and joined together. 21. The transducer body of claim 20 and further comprising a first flexure assembly coupled to the sensor body and a second flexure assembly coupled to the clevis halves, the first and second flexure assemblies each being compliant along the axis of compliance and rigid along axes mutually orthogonal to the axis of compliance. 22. The transducer body of claim 13 wherein the support includes a rigid member and the transducer body further comprises a second sensor body disposed on a side of the rigid member opposite the first-mentioned sensor body and along the axis of compliance, the first-mentioned sensor body and the second being joined together. 23. The transducer body of claim 13 and further comprising a pivot connection joining the sensor body to the support allowing pivoting motion of the sensor body relative to the support about an axis extending through the sensor body and the support. 24. A transducer body, comprising: at least two sensor bodies, each sensor body having a hub joined to a perimeter body surrounding the hub with flexure structures, wherein the hubs are joined together and wherein the flexure structures are configured to respond to loads transferred between the sensor bodies along two orthogonal sensed axes, and wherein the flexure structures of one of the sensor bodies has an operable range greater than the flexure structures of the second sensor bodies. 25. The transducer body of claim 24 and further comprising an overtravel mechanism to limit deflection of the flexure structures of one of the sensor bodies and transfer load to the other sensor body. 26. A platform balance suitable for use with a test specimen, the platform balance comprising: means for transmitting loads of the test specimen in a plurality of directions; and means for generating signals indicative of the loads along at least two orthogonal axes by sensing along at least three two orthogonal sensed axes. Description
REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATION This patent application is a continuation-in-part and claims priority to co-pending United States patent application entitled �Platform Balance�, filed on Mar. 6, 2006 and assigned Ser. No. 11/369,211, which claims the benefit of United States provisional patent application entitled �Platform Balance,� filed Mar. 7, 2005 and assigned Ser. No. 60/659,162, and where application Ser. No. 11/369,211 also is a continuation-in-part and claims priority to co-pending United States patent application entitled �Platform Balance�, filed on Dec. 3, 2004 and assigned Ser. No. 11/003,943, and where application Ser. No. 11/003,943 claims the benefit of United States provisional patent application entitled �Platform Balance�, filed on Dec. 4, 2003, and assigned Ser. No. 60/526,954. Each of the foregoing applications is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The present disclosure relates to devices that transmit and measure linear forces along and moments about three orthogonal axes. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to devices that are particularly well suited to measure forces and moments upon a test specimen in a test environment, such as in a wind tunnel. The measurement of loads, both forces and moments, with accuracy and precision is important to many applications. A common use, where several moments and forces need to be measured, is in the testing of specimens in a wind tunnel. Test specimens can be placed on a platform balance located in a pit of the wind tunnel. The platform balance can be adapted to receive a vehicle or other large test specimen, rather than merely a scale model of the vehicle. Actual vehicles, rather than scale models of the vehicles, allows the designer to determine actual measurements of prototypes, rather than merely inferential measurements. If the test specimen is a vehicle with wheels, the platform balance can be equipped with a rolling belt to rotate the wheels, which can make a significant improvement in measurement accuracy. Six components of force and moment act on a test specimen on the platform balance in the wind tunnel. These six components are known as lift force, drag force, side force, pitching moment, yawing moment, and rolling moment. The moments and forces that act on the test specimen are usually resolved into three components of force and three components of moment with transducers that are sensitive to the components. Each of the transducers carries sensors, such as strain gages, that are connected in combinations that form Wheatstone bridge circuits. By appropriately connecting the sensors, resulting Wheatstone bridge circuit unbalances can be resolved into readings of the three components of force and three components of moment. Platform balances have a tendency to be susceptible to various physical properties of the test environment that can lead to inaccurate measurements without additional compensation. For example, temperature transients in the wind tunnel can result in thermal expansion of the platform balance that can adversely affect the transducers. In addition, large test specimens are prone to create large thrust loads on the transducers that can cause inaccurate measurements. Accordingly, there is a continuing need to develop a platform balance suitable for use with large test specimens. SUMMARY This Summary and Abstract are provided to introduce some concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary and Abstract are not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor are they intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, the description herein provided and the claimed subject matter should not be interpreted as being directed to addressing any of the short-comings discussed in the Background. The present disclosure is directed to a platform balance that is suitable for transmitting forces and moments in a plurality of directions. The platform balance is adapted to support a test specimen, such as a large vehicle, in a test environment such as a wind tunnel. The platform balance includes a frame support and at least three spaced-apart transducers coupled to the frame support. Each of the transducers is sensitive about two orthogonal sensed axes. The transducers cooperate to provide signals indicative of forces and moments with respect to at least two orthogonal axes. In one example, the frame support includes a first perimeter frame and a second perimeter frame. The platform balance of this example includes four spaced-apart transducers coupling the first perimeter frame to the second perimeter frame. Transducers sensitive about two orthogonal sensed axes do not suffer from the effects of thermal expansion of the frame support and reject the large thrust loads present in transducers sensitive about three orthogonal sensed axes. The present disclosure is also directed to a transducer body having a support coupled to a sensor body along an axis of compliance. The sensor body is adapted to deflect about the two orthogonal sensed axes where the sensed axes are mutually orthogonal to the axis of compliance. In one aspect, the support includes a pair of clevis halves disposed on opposite sides of the sensor body along the axis of compliance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is a plan view of a platform balance constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the platform balance of FIG. 1 having additional features and is suitable for receiving a test specimen. FIG. 3 is an elevation view of the platform balance of FIG. 2, and having an exemplary test specimen. FIG. 4 is a top view of a transducer constructed in accordance with the present disclosure and included in the platform balance of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a front view of the transducer of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a side view of the transducer of FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a detailed view of a portion of the transducer of FIG. 4. FIG. 8 is a side view of another transducer constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a front view of another transducer constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a side view of the transducer of FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a side view of yet another transducer constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is an exemplary torque sensing circuit. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a flexure pivot bearing. FIG. 14 is a side view of another transducer constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 15 is a front elevational view of an inner member.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS This disclosure relates to devices and structures that transmit and measure linear forces along and moments about three orthogonal axes. The disclosure, including the figures, describes a platform balance and included transducers with reference to a several illustrative examples. For example, the disclosure proceeds with respect to frame supports attached to multi-part transducer assemblies described below. However, it should be noted that the present invention could be implemented in other devices or structures and transducers, as well. The present invention is described with respect to the frame supports and transducer assembly for illustrative purposes only. Other examples are contemplated and are mentioned below or are otherwise imaginable to someone skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is not limited to the few examples, i.e., the described embodiments of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is defined by reference to the appended claims. Changes can be made to the examples, including alternative designs not disclosed, and still be within the scope of the claims. An exemplary embodiment of a platform balance 10 of the present disclosure is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. In the embodiment illustrated, the platform balance 10 can include a first frame support 12 and a second frame support 14. A plurality of transducer assemblies 16, herein four although any number three or more can be used, couple the first frame support 12 to the second frame support 14. The platform balance 10 can be used to measure forces and moments applied to a test specimen of nominally large weight or mass such as a vehicle, engine, plane, etc. The frame supports 12 and 14 are nominally unstressed reaction frames, wherein each of the transducers comprises a two-axis force transducer. Various levels of flexure isolation can be provided in the platform balance 10 to provide increased sensitivity, while nominally supporting large masses. Referring to FIGS. 4-6, one of the transducer assemblies is illustrated at 40, wherein each of the transducer assemblies 16 is preferably similarly constructed. The transducer assembly 40 includes a sensor body 42 and a clevis assembly 44. The clevis assembly 44 includes a first clevis half 46 and a second clevis half 48. The sensor body 42 is disposed between the clevis halves 46 and 48 and joined together with a suitable fastener. In the embodiment illustrated, the fastener comprises a bolt or threaded rod 50 extending through apertures 48A, 42A and 46A of the clevis half 48, sensor body 42 and clevis half 46, respectively. A nut 51 is provided on an end 53 of rod 50 and a super nut 52 is threaded upon an end 54 of the threaded rod 50. A plurality of set screws 56 extends through the apertures in the nut 52 to engage an end of the clevis half 46. Tightening of the set screws 56 allows high clamping pressures to be achieved efficiently and at reduced torque values on each of the set screws 56 rather than through the use of a nut 52 by itself. It should be noted that although center portions of the devises 46 and 48 will engage or contact the center portion of the sensor body 42 about the apertures 46A, 42A and 48A, gaps are otherwise provided between each of the clevis halves 46 and 48 and the sensor body 42 so as to allow the sensor body 42 to move relative to the clevis halves 46 and 48. The sensor body 42 is preferably integral, being formed of a single unitary block of material. The sensor body 42 includes a ridged central hub 60, herein including the aperture 42A, and a ridged perimeter body 62 that is concentric with, or disposed about, the central hub 60. A plurality of flexure structures 64 (herein flexure beams 64 although other forms could be used) join the central hub 60 to the perimeter body 62. In the embodiment illustrated, the plurality of flexure beams 64 comprises four straps 71, 72, 73 and 74. Each of the straps 71-74 extend radially from the central hub 60 to the perimeter body 62 along corresponding longitudinal axes 71A, 72A, 73A and 74A. Preferably, axis 71A is aligned on axis 73A, while axis 72A is aligned with axis 74A. In addition, axes 71A and 73A are perpendicular to axes 72A and 74A. Although illustrated wherein the plurality of flexure beams 64 equals four, it should be understood that any number of straps three or more can be used to join the central hub 60 to the perimeter body 62. Preferably, the flexure beams 64 are spaced at equal angular intervals about a central axis indicated at 85. Flexure members 81, 82, 83 and 84 join an end of each flexure beam 71-74, respectively, to the perimeter body 62. The flexure members 81-84 are compliant with displacements of each corresponding flexure beam 71-74 along the corresponding longitudinal axes 71A-74A. In the embodiment illustrated, the flexure members 81-84 are identical and include integrally formed flexure straps 86 and 88. The flexure straps 86 and 88 are located on opposite sides of each longitudinal axes 71A-74A and joined to corresponding flexure beam 71-74 and to the perimeter body 62. A sensing device measures displacement or deformation of portions of the sensor body 42. In the body illustrated, a plurality of strain sensors 90 are mounted on the flexure beams 64 to sense strain therein. Although the plurality of sensors 90 can be located on the plurality of flexure beams 64 to provide an indicated of shear stresses, in the embodiment illustrated, the strain sensors are mounted conventionally to provide an output signal indicative of bending stresses in the flexure beams 64. In the embodiment illustrated, eight strain sensors are provided on the sensor body 42 of each transducer 40 wherein two conventional Wheatstone bridges are formed. A first Wheatstone bridge or sensing circuit is conventionally formed from the strain sensors provided on flexure beam 71 and 73, while a second Wheatstone bridge or second sensing circuit is formed from the strain sensors provided on flexure beams 72 and 74. In another embodiment, separate Wheatstone bridges can be formed on each flexure beam 71-74, the outputs of which can be combined as is known in the art. The plurality of sensors 90 can comprise resistive strain gauges. However, other forms of sensing devices such as optically based sensors or capacitivity based sensors can also be used to measure deformation or displacement of the flexure beams 64, or other portions of the sensor body 42 such as each of straps 86 and 88 if desired. Output signals from the sensing devices are indicative of force components transmitted between the central hub 60 and the perimeter body 62 in two degrees of freedom. For purposes of explanation, a coordinate system 97 can be defined wherein an X-axis 97A is aligned with the longitudinal axes 71A and 73A; a Z-axis 97B is aligned with the vertical axes 72A and 74A and a Y-axis 97C is aligned with the axis 85. In the embodiment illustrated, each of the transducer assemblies 16 measures two forces. Specifically, a force along the X-axis is measured as bending stresses created in the flexure beams 72 and 74 since the flexure members 81 and 83 on the ends of the flexure beams 71 and 73 are compliant in this direction. Similarly, a force along the Z axis is measured as bending stresses in the flexure beams 71 and 73 since the flexure members 82 and 84 on the ends of the flexure beams 72 and 74 are compliant in this direction. The transducer 40 is also compliant along the axis 85, because of flexures provided on the clevis assembly 44. In the embodiment illustrated, the clevis assembly 44 is formed of substantially identical clevis halves 46 and 48. In the illustrated embodiment, the sensor 42 is the �inner member� of the transducer body. Other embodiments are contemplated. For example, a single clevis half by itself could also be used. Still further, a single clevis half as an inner member connected to two sensors, which is described later with respect to FIG. 8 could also be used. In the embodiment illustrated, each clevis half 46 and 48 includes a central hub 102 through which, in the embodiment illustrated, apertures 46A and 48A are provided, and a rigid outer body 104. A flexure mechanism couples the rigid central hub 102 with the outer body 104. In the embodiment illustrated, a plurality of flexure straps 106 are provided with a first pair of flexure straps 111 and 112 extending from the central hub 102 to a first portion 104A of the outer body 104 and a second pair of flexure straps 113 and 114 extending from the central hub 102 to a second portion 104B of body 104. However, it should be noted that other forms of flexure members or mechanism can be used between the rigid hub 102 and the outer body 104 to allow compliance along axis 85 if desired. Such forms can include other integral flexure mechanisms such as a diaphragm(s), or multi-component assemblies having flexible couplings such as slides or pivot connections. Referring FIGS. 1-3, the sensor body 42 of each of the transducer assemblies 40 is joined to the frame support 12, while each of the clevis halves 46 and 48 of each transducer assembly 40 is joined to a frame support 14. In the embodiment illustrated, mounting plates 120 are used to couple the sensor bodies 42 to the frame support 12, while mounting plates 122 are used to join the clevis halves 46 and 48 to the frame support 14. In this manner, the frame support 12 provides an inner perimeter frame, while the frame support 14 provides an outer perimeter frame. Use of the mounting plates 120 and 122 allows the frame supports 12 and 14 to be nested thereby reducing an overall height of the platform balance 10. Each of the frame supports 12 and 14 comprise continuous hollow box beams formed in a perimeter so as to provide corresponding stiff assemblies. The frame support 12 holds the sensor bodies 42 in position with respect to each other, while the frame support 14 holds the clevis assemblies 44 in position with respect to each other. Stiffening box frame members 124 can also be provided in the support frame 12 as illustrated. As appreciated by those skilled in the art, outputs from each of the two-axis sensing circuits from each of the transducer assemblies 16 can be combined so as to sense or provide outputs indicative of forces and moments upon the platform balance in six degrees of freedom. It should be noted that the flexure mechanisms of the clevis assembly 44 causes the transducers 16 to operate in a manner similar to how the flexure members 81-84 provide compliance in the sensor body 42. A coordinate system for platform 10 is illustrated at 131 in FIGS. 1 and 2. Output signals from transducer assemblies 40A and 40C are used to measure forces along the X-axis, because transducer assemblies 40B and 40D are compliant in this direction. Likewise, output signals from transducer assemblies 40B and 40D are used to measure forces along the Y-axis, because transducer assemblies 40A and 40C are compliant in this direction. Outputs from all of the transducers 40A-40D are used to measure forces along the Z-axis. Overturning moments about the X-axis are measured from the output signals from transducers 40A and 40C; while overturning moments about the Y-axis are measured from the output signals from transducers 40B and 40D; and while overturning moments about the Z-axis are measured from the output signals from transducers 40A-40D. Processor 180 receives the output signals from the sensing circuits of the transducers 40 to calculate forces and/or moments as desired, typically with respect to the orthogonal coordinate system 131. As described above, the platform can comprise four two-axis transducer assemblies. This particular design can have advantages over an embodiment having four three-axis (or more) transducer assemblies. In addition to the rejection of thermal expansion of the frames 12 and 14 relative to each other during lab or tunnel temperature transients, the platform 10 does not have to reject a relatively large thrust load on each of the four transducer assemblies (the clevis flexures are all very soft in thrust (along axis 86) thus shedding load to the two orthogonal two-axis transducer assemblies when an x or y side load is applied). This allows the platform 10 to be more optimally tuned for the four sensing flexure straps in each two-axis sensor body 42 than if the assembly was trying to react and measure thrust at the four transducer assembly positions about the platform as in three or more than three axis transducer assemblies. The design allows cross axis dimensions and I/c of orthogonal flexure beams to be changed independently to optimize sensitivity. For example, two can be thicker than the other two and can be thickness variable as well. If the transducer assemblies were three axis transducers and this occurred, two of the beams in line with each other would be stiffer and give different outputs from the orthogonal pair and thus make the sensor behave strangely with off axis or combined loadings. Lack of need to measure and react to thrust also allows higher stress and strain designs since there is no second bending stress tensor which would add bending in an additional axis at beam root connections to inner central hubs. Again higher sensitivity, higher resolution and higher signal to noise ratio with greater span on scalability both absolute and measured components relative to each other are provided. In a further embodiment, over travel stop mechanisms are provided in each of the transducer assemblies 16 so as to prevent damage to the sensor bodies 42 or flexure mechanisms of the clevis assemblies 44. Referring back to FIGS. 4-6, one or more pins 140 are provided so as to limit displacement of the sensor body 42 relative to the clevis assembly 44. In the embodiment illustrated, apertures 46B, 48B, 42B are provided in the clevis halves 46 and 48 and the sensor body 42, respectively. The pin 140 is secured, for example, to the sensor body 42 such as by a press fit so that extending portions of the pin 140 extend into the apertures 46B and 48B of the clevis halves 46 and 48 and are nominally spaced apart from inner walls thereof. If displacement of the displaceable portions of the sensor bodies 42 exceeds that desired relative to the bodies of the clevis halves 46 and 48, extending portions of the pin 140 will contact the inner wall of the apertures 46B and/or 48B provided in the clevis half 46 and/or 48 thereby coupling the perimeter body 62 of the sensor body 42 with the outer bodies 104 of the clevis halves 46 and 48 to prevent damage to the flexure straps or mechanism. Note that the perimeter body 62 can be appropriately spaced from the clevis half (halves) 46 and/or 48 to provide overtravel protection. In particular, the perimeter body 62 can engage the clevis halves 46 and/or 48, if displacement along axis 85 exceeds a selected distance. Although the sensor body 42 and clevis halves 46 and 48 can be formed from any suitable material, in one embodiment, the sensor body 42 is formed from steel, while the clevis halves are formed from aluminum. Each of the pins 140 can be formed from hardened steel and if necessary, hardened bushings can be provided in the apertures 46B, 48B of the clevis halves 46 and 48 to engage the remote portions of the pin 140. It should be noted that the extending portions of the pin 140 can be provided with a curved or spherical surface 151, as illustrated in FIG. 7, relative to a shank portion 153 so as ensure distributed contact of the pin 140 with the inner wall of the apertures 46B, 48B formed in the clevis halves 46 and 48. It should also be noted that depending on the intended application the sensor body 42 and clevis half or halves can be formed a single unitary body. FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of the transducer, i.e., transducer 40′ and corresponding body. Like parts are indicated with like reference numerals. In this embodiment, one of the clevis halves 46 of FIG. 4-6 becomes the inner member. Two sensor members 42 from FIGS. 4-6 become the clevis halves. In this example and unlike the previous examples, the inner member is not instrumented. Rather, the sensor member structures of the previous embodiment are instrumented with sensors, but in this embodiment function as clevis halves. Suitable sensors such as strain gauges 90 are still connected to the members 42. The illustrated example includes twice as many sensors 90 as in the embodiment of FIGS. 4-6. In order to provide usable outputs, the sensor signals can be combined in each transducer such as by combining or summing the signals in Wheatstone bridges as is known in the art. The configuration of FIG. 8 is stiffer in the y-direction (as indicated in the coordinate system) than the embodiment of FIGS. 4-6. The embodiment of FIGS. 4-6, however, is stiffer in a moment about the x-axis than the embodiment of FIG. 8. FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate yet another embodiment of a transducer, i.e., transducer 40″ and corresponding body. Like parts are indicated with like reference numerals. Transducer 40″ is similar to transducer 40 described above in that sensor body 42 is disposed between clevis halves 46C and 48C; however in this embodiment clevis halves 46C and 48C are solid, rigid supports without flexure members therein. As with the embodiments described above, transducer 40″ is a two-axis sensing assembly for sensing forces along the X-axis 97A and Z-axis 97B when suitable sensors devices are provided for sensor body 42, while being insensitive or compliant for forces along the Y-axis 97C. In particular, flexure assemblies 147A and 147B, herein embodied as relatively thin flexible plates, allow the sensor body 42 and clevis halves 46C, 48C to move freely along the Y-axis 97C, being compliant in that direction, but substantially stiff to transfer force loads along the X-axis 97A and Z-axis 97B directions. As illustrated, each flexure assembly 147A, 147B can comprise two flexible plates 153, although one or any number of plates could be used. Flexure assembly 147A is joined to sensor body 42 by mounting block 155 and to, for example, frame 12 by mounting block 147. Similarly, flexure assembly 147B is joined to clevis halves 46C, 48C with clevis tie block 159 and to, for example, frame 14 by mounting block 161. If desired, the flexure assemblies 147A and 147B can be used with all the embodiments described herein. In a further embodiment, the flexure assemblies 147A and 147B can further include cross flexures 169 (mounted to blocks 147,155,159 and 161 orthogonal to plates 153), which allow the flexible plates 153 to be thinner and thus more flexible. A fastener such as the fastener comprising threaded rod 50 and other components described above joins the clevis halves 46C, 48C to the sensor body 42. It should be noted that although center portions of the clevis halves 46C and 48C will engage or contact the center portion of the sensor body 42, gaps are otherwise provided between each of the clevis halves 46C and 48C and the sensor body 42 so as to allow the sensor body 42 to move relative to the clevis halves 46C and 48C. In one embodiment as illustrated, the clevis halves 46C, 48C and tie block 159 are separate components that are fastened together in order that the clevis halves 46C, 48C do not develop a spring force when joined to sensor body 42. In particular, sensor body 42 is first joined to the clevis halves 46C, 48C with the fastener, and then the clevis halves are joined together with tie block 159. If desired any of the embodiments herein described can include a torque sensor to measure torque about an axis extending through the coupling joining the sensor body to the clevis or clevises. The sensed torque value can be used for compensation if needed for reducing sensor crosstalk or compensating for beam stiffness or rotational stiffness of the transducers. Referring by way of example to the embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10, the torque sensor can comprise sensors adapted to measure strain in flexures of the sensor body 42. For instance, sensors can comprise strain gauges 170 connected in a Wheatstone bridge as illustrated in FIG. 12. However, it should be understood any form of known electrical, mechanical and/or optically based sensors can be used. FIG. 11 shows an alternative embodiment of the transducer, i.e., transducer 40′″ and corresponding body. Like parts are indicated with like reference numerals. In this embodiment, two sensor members 42 from FIGS. 9-10 become the clevis halves. In this example and unlike the previous examples, the inner member 163 is not instrumented and also rigid. Like the embodiment of FIG. 8, the sensor member structures 42 are instrumented with sensors and function as clevis halves, while flexure assemblies 147A and 147B provide lateral compliance as described in the previous embodiment, but do not include the cross flexures 169, which can be included if desired. Suitable sensors such as strain gauges 90 are still connected to the members 42. FIG. 14 shows yet another embodiment of the transducer, i.e., transducer 40″″ and corresponding body. Like parts are indicated with like reference numerals. In this embodiment, the transducer 40″″ includes a sensor assembly 42′ where both the inner member 181 and one or both of the outer members 182 (clevis or devises in the previous embodiments) include sensors (electrical, mechanical or optical) for deflecting elements for sensing strain therein or displacement thereof. More particularly, the load path through the flexure structures 64 of the inner member 181 are connected in series with the corresponding flexure structures 64 of the outer member(s) 183 for loads along both the X-axis 97A and the Z-axis 97B. However, in order to extend the range of the transducer 40″″, the flexure structures of one of inner member 181 or outer member(s) 183 are designed to be responsive to a first range of loads, while the other has flexure structures designed to be responsive to a second range of loads, at least a portion of which is greater than that of the first range of loads. Each of the inner member 181 and outer member(s) 183 has a hub 60 joined to outer perimeter body 64 with flexure structures 64. Loads are transferred between the inner member 181 and the outer members(s) 183 through the hubs 60, which are connected together. Stated another way, the transducer body 42′ (less the sensing devices) of the transducer 40″″ includes at least two sensor bodies 181,183, where each sensor body 181,183 has a hub 60 joined to a perimeter body 62 surrounding the hub 60 with flexure structures 64. The hubs 60 are joined together and the flexure structures 64 are configured to respond to loads transferred between the sensor bodies 181,183 along two orthogonal sensed axes, where the flexure structures 64 of one of the sensor bodies 181,183 has an operable range greater than the flexure structures 64 of the second sensor body 181,183. In a further embodiment, as described below, the transducer body includes an overtravel mechanism to limit deflection of the flexure structures 64 of one of the sensor bodies 181,183 and transfer load to the other sensor body 181,183. In the embodiment illustrated, by way of example only, the flexure structures 64 of the inner member 181 are constructed to respond in a known manner to the first range of loads, while the flexure structures of the outer member(s) 183 are stiffer and constructed to respond in a known manner to the second range of loads. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 15, the inner member 181 includes strain sensors 185 connected in two conventional Wheatstone bridges, where sensors 185A are mounted and connected so as to sense loads along axis 97B, while sensors 185B are mounted and connected so as to sense loads along axis 97A. Similarly, in the embodiment illustrated, one or both of the outer members 183 can include strain sensors 187 mounted to the flexure structures 64 thereof like strain sensors 185 are mounted to flexure structures 64 of inner member 181. In FIG. 14, sensors 187B are similar to sensors 185B, while other sensors (not shown) are similar to sensors 185A. Sensors 187 of the outer member(s) 183 provide signal(s) indicative of the second range of loads. Processor 180 can receive all the signals from the sensing devices for the inner member 181 and the outer member(s) 183 and can include circuitry and/or logic to know which signal(s) to use for any load measured by the transducer 40″″. In view that the inner member 181 has flexure structures more responsive (higher sensitivity) to loads of the first range, overtravel protection is provided so as to limit displacement of the flexure structures 64 of the inner member 181. As appreciated by those skilled in the art, overtravel protection can take many forms, but typically involves contact of engaging surfaces so as to limit displacement of the flexure structures. Referring to FIG. 14, one form of overtravel can be provided with pin 140. Referring to FIG. 15 and as described above in the previous embodiments, flexure straps 86 and 88 are connected to each of the flexure structures 64 so as to provide compliance. In the embodiment illustrated, overtravel protection is provided by stops 191 that contact opposed surfaces 193 when loads exceeding the first range of loads are being applied. In one embodiment, one of the engaging surfaces of the stops 191 or its corresponding surface 193 is curved (e.g. part spherical, cylindrical, etc.) so as to allow pivoting motion during contact, if needed. It should also be noted the sensitivity of the flexure structures 64 responsive to loads along the X-axis 97A and Z-axis 97C of the inner member 181 and/or outer member(s) 183 may be the same or may be different. Compliance along the Y-axis 97B can be provided by flexures 153 as described above with respect to the embodiment of FIG. 11. In each of the embodiments described above the sensor body 42 is securely coupled to the corresponding supporting clevis or devises at the center portions thereof. However, in a further embodiment, a pivot connection can be provided between the sensor body 42 and clevis or devises. The pivot connection eliminates rotational stiffness of the transducer. In one embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 13, a flexure pivot bearing 171, can be used in place of fastener 50 to allow the sensor body 42 to rotate about an axis extending through the sensor body 42 and the supporting clevis or clevises, yet the sensor body 42 senses forces in two orthogonal directions as described above. Flexure pivot bearings are well known and for instance sold by Riverhawk Company of New Hartford, N.Y., USA. Flexure pivot bearing 171 is suitable for use with a sensor body joined to portion 173A, while a single support clevis is joined to portion 173B. In embodiments where two support devises (sensor bodies) are present, a doubled ended flexure pivot bearing is used where two portions 173B are provided on each side of portion 173A and secured to the clevises (sensor bodies). As appreciated by those skills in the art, other forms of pivot connections can be used such as but not limited to air bearings, needle bearings and hydrostatic bearings. The platform balance 10 is particularly well suited for measuring force and/or moments upon a large specimen such as a vehicle in an environment such as a wind tunnel. In this or similar applications, the platform balance 10 can include flexures 170 isolating the frame support 12 and 14 from the test specimen and a ground support mechanism. In the embodiment illustrated, four flexures 170 are provided between each of the transducer assemblies 40, being coupled to the plates 120. Similarly, four flexures 172 are coupled to the mounting plates 122. The flexure 170, 172 thereby isolate the frame supports 12 and 14. The flexures 170, 172 are generally aligned with the sensor bodies 42 of each corresponding transducer assembly 40. A counter balance system or assembly is generally provided to support the nominal static mass of the test specimen, other components of the operating environment such as roadways, simulators and components of the platform balance itself. The counter balance system can take any one of numerous forms such as airbags, hydraulic or pneumatic devices, or cables with pulleys and counter weights. An important characteristic of the counter balance system is that it is very compliant so as not to interfere with the sensitivity or measurement of the forces by the transducers assemblies 40 in order to measure all of the forces and moments upon the test specimen. In the embodiment illustrated, the counter balance system is schematically illustrated by actuators 190. The platform balance 10 is particularly well suited for use in measuring forces upon a vehicle or other large test specimen in a wind tunnel. In such an application, rolling roadway belts 182 are supported by an intermediate frame 184 coupled to the flexure members 170. The rolling roadway belts 182 support the vehicle tires. In some embodiments, a single roadway belt is used for all tires of the vehicle. The platform balance 10 and rolling roadway belt assemblies 182 are positioned in a pit and mounted to a turntable mechanism 186 so as to allow the test specimen, for example a vehicle, to be selectively turned with respect to the wind of the wind tunnel. Aspects of the present invention have now been described with reference to several embodiments. Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or acts described above as has been held by the courts. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS8061045Jun 16, 2009Nov 22, 2011Maha Maschinenbau Haldenwang Gmbh & Co. KgSliding deviceUS20140053655 *Aug 23, 2012Feb 27, 2014Bose CorporationEndosseous dental implant loading fixtureDE112009000493T5Mar 3, 2009Jul 28, 2011MTS Systems Corp., Minn.HaltesystemEP2141449A2 *Jun 18, 2009Jan 6, 2010MAHA Maschinenbau Haldenwang GmbH & Co. KGVehicle wheel supportWO2007112074A2 *Mar 23, 2007Oct 4, 2007Mts System CorpCounterbalance for a platform balance* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification73/862.41International ClassificationG01L5/10Cooperative ClassificationG01M9/062, G01L5/161, G01M17/007European ClassificationG01L5/16B, G01M17/007, G01M9/06BLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionFeb 26, 2014FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Oct 19, 2006ASAssignmentOwner name: MTS SYSTEMS CORPORATION, MINNESOTAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:MEYER, RICHARD A.;OLSON, DOUGLAS J.;KUNSCH, IAN T.;REEL/FRAME:018411/0114Effective date: 20060921RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services

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23901-7.patch on Ticket #23901 – Attachment
Ticket #23901: 23901-7.patch
File 23901-7.patch,
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Missy Parkin's Blog: June 2017
The Go Bowling PWBA Players Championship
This past week, I traveled to Green Bay, WI for the Go Bowling PWBA Players Championship held at Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley. I was happy to be able to bring my hubby along and show him a little bit of the area.
We arrived late on Tuesday night. Having most of the day Wednesday prior to the practice session, I took Drew to Titletown Brew Pub, which is one of the most popular brew pubs in the country. Built inside of an old train depot, the decor is fabulous, food is amazing, and I highly recommend the home-brewed sno cap root beer.
After lunch, we ventured to Bay Beach and stopped by the amusement park and took a stroll along the bay. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get in a tour of Lambeau Field.
We then had our practice session, followed by a unique pro-am event, in which we did cosmic bowling. That was a first for me! I had so much fun bowling, especially with my friends from the Greater Green Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.
This week, the oil pattern wasn't posted for the event. The format for this week was also slightly different. We bowled three 6-game blocks of qualifying. The field was then cut to the top 16 for round robin match play, with the winner of each match earning 30 bonus pins. After all 32 games, the top 4 would make the LIVE TV show.
The next morning, we started our first 6 games of qualifying. I struggled game 1, shooting 154. I then switched to my New Hammer Diesel and shot 209. The lanes broke down quickly and I then switched to a newly drilled pin down Hammer Scandal Pearl and shot 192, 194, 205 and 196 for -50, which put me in 43rd place overall. Unfortunately my carry percentage wasn't great, so it was hard for me to make up for the bad start.
The next round, I started with my Hammer Diesel and shot 198. I then switched to my Scandal Pearl for a 176 and 199. I struggled game 4 to find a line and shot 169. I then switched to a pin down Phenom Pearl and shot 179 and 210 for -119 overall, which dropped me down to 44th place. Definitely a frustrating day, but at least I was able to end it o a positive note.
The next morning, I knew I needed to execute and shoot a big block just to cash, let alone have an outside chase of making the top 18 cut. Going into the final block of qualifying, the current cut to the top 18, was +32. I started off on the high end of the bowling center and used my Hammer Diesel to shoot 246 game 1. I then had to make the turn to the low end of the bowling center and shot 206 and 204. I followed it up with a 247 game.
My scores put me close to the top 18 cut, needing two good games to finish off the block. The lanes started to transition and I switched to my Phenom Pearl and shot 185 leaving a stone 8 pin my second shot in the 10th, which cost me a double and 10 extra pins.
My last game, I bowled really well, but didn't carry enough shooting 210 for +98 for the block. This put me at -21 overall. I ended up coming in 24th, cashing in the tournament, but missing the cut to the top 18 by 25 pins.
This week was a great lesson in never giving up. I was 151 pins out of making the cut and 58 pins away from cashing when the day started. With some great execution and confidence in my ability, I was able to pull everything together and make a great comeback. I am very proud of that.
HUGE thank you to Dave and Matt, amazing proprietors from Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley and Joel from the GGCVB for all of their hard work and gracious hospitality during the Go Bowling PWBA Players Championship! It's always a pleasure to visit Green Bay!
This week also marks the last stop for my Malaysian friends. Very sad to see them go, especially my old roomie Shalin Zulkifli.
Time to head home for a few days, rest and relax and then it's on to Orlando! #PWBA
Posted by Missy Parkin at 8:45 AM 1 comment:
The Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open
This past week, I travelled to Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln, Nebraska for the Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open.
This week, we competed on a demanding 36' pattern. There were 78 bowlers at this event with a max of 80.
Even though we were bowling on a short pattern, the extreme outside part of the lane was out of bounds/unplayable. That's what also added to the difficulty of this pattern, as that is usually the part of the lane you should be playing on such short patterns.
I decided to play it safer, keeping the ball controlled and used my Black Hammer Urethane with 500 grit playing straight up 9 board to start and shot games of 200, 245 and 168. I then began lofting my Urethane ball to get it cleaner through the heads and shot 223 and 197 before switching to my Columbia 300 Eruption Pro Orange for 184. This put me at +17 overall and in 13th position, only missing one makeable spare (a washout.)
After a short break, we came back to bowl the 2nd block of qualifying. I again started with my Urethane ball shooting 202. Unfortunately, many played the lanes further inside to start, making the pattern change faster and get ugly pretty quick. I really struggled the remainder of the block shooting 159, 184, 199, 178 and 170 for -91 total. This squeaked me into the Casher's Round ending up in 29th place. It took - 114 to make the cut to the top 32.
Needing a big block in the Casher's Round, I decided to go with a different strategy. I used my New Hammer Diesel and opened up my angles quite a bit, getting the ball quickly to the right, allowing the ball to roll off the dry. I must admit this is definitely not my A game, as I prefer a straighter angle to the pocket.
The strategy seemed to work as I shot 206 and 232 to start. However, the lanes transitioned and I couldn't quite figure them out after that. I ended up shooting 171, 193, 145 and 192 for -152 overall, which kept me in 29th position for the tournament.
Although I definitely would have liked to bowl better, I am still happy with cashing considering I haven't cashed at this event the prior 2 years.
Thank you to the 2017 BPAA Proprietor of the Year John Losito and the entire staff of Sun Valley Lanes for the gracious hospitality! It has been a pleasure bowling here the first 3 seasons.
Congratulations to Li Jane Sin from Malaysia, Thashaina Seraus from Aruba and Kelly Kulick and Liz Johnson for making the TV show.
Be sure to tune in to CBS Sports Network on Tuesday nights at 8 pm EST to watch the stepladder finals of this season's events.
Time for a quick trip home before heading to our next PWBA Tour Stop in Detroit, Michigan. And....last but not least...
Here's a little secret that I can finally let all of you in on....Baby Parkin will be arriving in December 2017. Drew and I are ecstatic! And YES, I will be bowling the entire 2017 PWBA Tour Season.
Posted by Missy Parkin at 6:23 PM 2 comments:
The PWBA Wichita Open
This past week, I travelled to NorthRock Lanes in Wichita, Kansas for the Midwest segment of the PWBA Tour.
Having just missed the cut at this event the past two seasons, I was determined to change things this time around.
I flew out early Thursday morning and made it in time for the Thursday afternoon practice session. I also bowled in the pro-am that evening with a great group of junior and adult bowlers.
Prior to the start of the pro-am, we had a little silly competition amongst the pros. Every pro had to go up to the foul line with a ball in their hand. We had no idea what was going on. We then were asked to face the audience and throw the ball granny style between our legs, backwards. Well seeing as I have actually never done this before, I was concerned at knocking down any pins at all.
We all threw the ball at the same time, highest pin fall remained. I actually knocked down 9 pins to my surprise. There were 3 or 4 people left. So we went again. I knocked down 6 pins and tied with one other bowler for the highest pinfall. We both then threw it in the gutter and needed to go again for the tie breaker. I again knocked down 9 pins and won my pair free frozen custard! A great way to start the night!
The next day, we bowled our qualifying squads. For those that haven't actually attended one of our tour events, I'd like to give you a little more insight into our daily schedule for each standard event week.
There's an optional morning practice session from 9-10am on Fridays. I opted to get extra sleep and skip it this week. We then bowl 6 games of qualifying starting at noon, so a late breakfast/early lunch is what we eat beforehand.
As in many weeks, we had another awesome turnout - 101 bowlers, so there were 4 and some 5 pros on a pair. This makes for LONG qualifying blocks. We got done bowling around 4pm, which gives you about an hour for a quick late lunch/early dinner (and that's if you're not drilling a bowling ball in between squads, which takes more time since we have to work out all of our own equipment.)
We then bowl another 6-game qualifying block at 6pm, which usually gets done around 10pm. By the time we get done, I might have a quick snack, if at all and then it's off to sleep. Then if you make the cut to the top 32, it's a very quick turnaround as we have to bowl at 8:30am the next morning.
That next morning, it's another 6 games of the Casher's Round before cutting to the top 12 for matchplay. Then another 6 games of matchplay, followed by the stepladder finals. So all of this makes for a lot of bowling in a very short amount of time. Just a little more in depth look into our lives every weekend.
This week, we bowled on a rather interesting/difficult 42' pattern using ice oil.
I started off using a lot of surface (360 grit) on my Track Heat Xtreme, playing far to the right, pointing the ball. I shot games of 215 and 204. I then switched to my Track Mako and shot 182, 210 and 225. Unfortunately, the last game I struggled only shooting 159 for -5 overall, which put me in 21st place.
The next block, they did not re-oil the lanes so we bowled on the burn. I completely changed strategies and jumped deep inside using my Columbia 300 Tyrant and shot 237 and 201. I then struggled again leaving a couple of pocket splits and shot 159. I brought it back with a 227, 182 and 221 for +22 total, which moved me into 16th place overall. The cut to the top 32 was -31.
The next morning, I needed a good block to jump into the top 12. I was only 33 pins back when the day started. I again started off using my Track Heat Xtreme with surface and played right and shot 223. Unfortunately, when I moved to the next pair, I struggled to get lined up and started off with 3 splits and opens in a row. I ended up striking out in the 10th for 156. I then switched to my Track Mako shooting a clean 194.
Not having a great reaction, I decided to jump inside and shot 186, 211 and 205. I didn't throw the ball stellar in the Casher's Round and with the demanding conditions, that wasn't going to make the cut. I ended up -3 overall which put me in 20th place in the tournament. It took +60 to make the cut to match play.
Even though I would have liked to do better, I'm still happy with the fact that I bowled better at this event than the previous years.
Thank you to Kathy Desocio and the staff of NorthRock Lanes for their continued support of women's bowling!
Congratulations to Malaysians Siti Rahman and Li Jane Sin as well as Colombian Juliana Franco and Liz Johnson for making the TV show! On to Lincoln!
Posted by Missy Parkin at 1:16 PM No comments:


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16 | October | 2013 | Caelum Et Terra
Posted in Uncategorized on October 16, 2013| 3 Comments »
Thank you so much for causing the GOP to self-destruct. We really couldn’t have done it without you.
A very fine piece on restoring justice, by Gar Alperovitz, from The Nation:
“Everyone knows the United States faces enormous challenges: unemployment, poverty, global warming, environmental decay—to say nothing of whole cities that have essentially been thrown away. We know the economic system is dominated by powerful corporate institutions. And we know the political system is dominated by those same institutions. Elections occur and major fiscal debates ensue, but most of the problems are only marginally affected (and often in ways that increase the burdens).The issue is not simply that our situation is worrisome. It is that the nation’s most pressing problems are built into the structure of the system. They are not unique to the current economic slump or the result of partisan bickering, something passing in the night that will go away when we elect forward-looking leaders and pressure them to move in a different direction. only has the economy been stagnating for a long time, but for the average family, things have been bad for a very long time. Real wages for 80 percent of workers have not gone up more than a trivial amount for at least three decades. At the same time, income for the top 1 percent has jumped from roughly 10 percent of all income to more than 20 percent. A recent estimate is that a mere 400 individuals in the United States own more wealth than the bottom 180 million Americans taken together.
“In 2007, people got excited about federal legislation raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. This was obviously good, but the long-term negative trend continued nonetheless. The minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, was more than $2 higher in 1968. Clearly, when great victories don’t even get us back to where we were more than forty years ago, we need to pay close attention. I support such efforts, but it appears unlikely that strategies aimed at reviving the politics that produced the New Deal and Great Society programs are going to alter the big trends, even if those strategies are intensified by movement building—especially given the decline of labor unions, the power base of traditional progressive politics.
There is, however, a little-noticed twist to this otherwise bleak narrative. Deepening economic and social pain are producing the kinds of conditions from which various new forms of democratization—of ownership, wealth and institutions—are beginning to emerge. The challenge is to develop a broad strategy that not only ends the downward spiral but also gives rise to something different: steadily changing who actually owns the system, beginning at the bottom and working up.”
http://www.thenation.com/article/176555/how-democratize-us-economy


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Dots & Daisies: Hairstyled by Anne Thoumieux
Hairstyled by Anne Thoumieux
I have long hair and so does my daughter so I am always, ALWAYS, looking for new hairstyles. Hairstyled by Anne Thoumieux is a great book with 75 ideas on how to braid, pin and accessorize your hair.
It has styles for every hair type including short, straight and curly. It has clear pictures of each step and detailed, clear instructions which is a big bonus for me. I need to be able to see exactly what I need to be doing and this book hit the mark perfectly.
There are a couple of ideas that are so simple and so cute. These are the type of hairstyles that I am interested in. I don't want to spend a lot of time in front of the mirror on a daily basis, I want something quick and easy, but cute is always a plus!
I would of liked for the book to be spiral bound. It is hard to use it as a reference while fixing your hair when the pages won't stay opened. I found this very annoying. I received this book free from blogging for books in exchange for my honest review and although I am happy to have had the opportunity to review the book I have to say with this type of book, I am not sure it is something I would ever buy. Yes, I enjoyed the book, yes, I will refer back to it, but with youtube so easily at my fingertips I would be more apt to look up hairstyles with video tutorials rather than buy a book full of them.
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