Continental launches on board weighing system for commercial vehicles11 September 2020

Continental has developed an on-board weighing system that records and displays the weight of commercial vehicles, including trailers and semitrailers before travel, and is independent of stationary scales.

The system complies with EU Directive 2015/719, which will go into effect in May 2021. It requires EU member states to measure the gross vehicle weight of commercial vehicles more frequently. In order to plan accordingly and prevent sanctions, drivers and fleet operators must already know the load condition of a vehicle before starting a trip. So far, this has been almost impossible, says Continental, and poses particular challenges for vehicles for which the semitrailer is usually provided by the forwarder.

While according to Continental, most EU countries are currently relying primarily on a comprehensive, stationary solution, this system goes beyond the regulatory stipulations. “Even if the load is measured by sensors in the road in the future, the integrated solution will remain interesting for forwarding agents, fleet managers and drivers,” says Marc Leinemann, Continental technical project manager involved in the development of the system.

Continental has developed various OBW solutions for different customer requirements. One system uses a sensor for vehicles with air suspension, which uses ultrasound to measure the height and pressure of air springs in order to determine the axle’s load condition. On the same basis, a height sensor has been developed for shock absorbers for vehicles without air suspension. The suspension travel of the shock absorber provides information on the load condition of the respective axle. The strain sensor from Continental is also suitable for both steel and air-sprung axles. It measures the strain of the axle body and thus enables the load to be calculated. The sum of the axle loads results in the vehicle weight including the load.

In all four cases, the data gathered is collected, forwarded and evaluated, and the results are finally displayed via the app on the driver’s smartphone or on a display in the driver’s cab. Fleet managers can also retrieve the data and optimize the utilization of their fleets.

Author
William Dalrymple

Related Companies
Continental Tyre Group Ltd

This material is protected by MA Business copyright
See Terms and Conditions.
One-off usage is permitted but bulk copying is not.
For multiple copies contact the sales team.