Lifting member with load and/or stress measuring means

1. Lifting member ( 1 ) intended to transmit all or a portion of a longitudinal lifting force between a lifting device and a load to be lifted, including:

a proximal portion ( 1 a ) conformed to be fixed to the lifting device,

a distal portion ( 1 b ) adapted to be connected to the load,

a longitudinal portion ( 1 c ), extending from the proximal portion ( 1 a ) in the direction of the distal portion ( 1 b ), and adapted to be stretched elastically by the portion of the longitudinal lifting force,

wherein the distal portion ( 1 b ) of the lifting member comprises a rotary latch having a “T”-shape, the “T”-shaped latch including a shoulder portion having an oblong shape, and

wherein:

the longitudinal portion ( 1 c ) of the lifting member ( 1 ) includes at least one longitudinal passage ( 1 d ),

an optical stress sensor ( 2 ) is inserted into said at least one longitudinal passage ( 1 d ) and is fixed to the lateral wall of said at least one longitudinal passage ( 1 d ),

said optical stress sensor ( 2 ) produces a signal imaging the longitudinal stretching of the longitudinal portion ( 1 c ) of the lifting member ( 1 ), and

connecting means ( 3 ) are provided for transmitting the signals from the optical stress sensor ( 2 ) to means ( 4 ) for receiving and analyzing the signals from the optical stress sensor ( 2 ).

2. Lifting member ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the optical stress sensor ( 2 ) is fixed to the lateral wall of the longitudinal passage ( 1 d ) in at least a first fixing area ( 5 a ) and a second fixing area ( 5 b ) situated at a distance from each other in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal passage ( 1 d ).

3. Lifting member ( 1 ) according to claim 2 , wherein the first fixing area ( 5 a ) and the second fixing area ( 5 b ) are in an area of constant diameter (D) of the longitudinal portion ( 1 c ) of the lifting member ( 1 ).

4. Lifting member ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal passage ( 1 d ) is blind, extends from the proximal portion ( 1 a ), and is disposed at the centre of the cross-section of the longitudinal portion ( 1 c ) of the lifting member ( 1 ).

5. Lifting member according to claim 1 , wherein the optical stress sensor ( 2 ) is an optical fiber optical sensor, the optical fiber being fastened to the lateral wall of the longitudinal passage ( 1 d ) in the first fixing area ( 5 a ) and the second fixing area ( 5 b ).

6. Lifting member according to claim 1 , wherein the optical stress sensor ( 2 ) includes a laser rangefinder.

7. Holding and lifting frame ( 6 ), including at least one lifting member ( 1 ) according to claim 1 .

8. Device ( 9 ) for measuring and analyzing a load, including at least one lifting member ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , and wherein the receiving and analyzing means ( 4 ) process the signals coming from the optical stress sensor ( 2 ) to determine one or more of the following parameters:

the weight lifted by said at least one lifting member ( 1 ),

the stress state of said at least one lifting member ( 1 ),

the duration of application of the loads and their intensity,

the number of cycles performed by said at least one lifting member ( 1 ), and

the load and/or stress spectrum of said at least one lifting member ( 1 ).

9. Device ( 9 ) according to claim 8 , including a plurality of lifting members ( 1 ) for handling the same load simultaneously, and wherein the receiving and analyzing means ( 4 ) process the signals coming from a plurality of optical stress sensors ( 2 ) to determine one or both of the following parameters:

the location of the center of gravity of the load, and

the lifting force exerted by each lifting member ( 1 ).

10. Device according to claim 8 , wherein the lifting device is a handling gantry ( 7 ).

11. Device according to claim 8 , wherein the lifting device is a crane.

12. Device according to claim 8 , wherein the lifting device is a front loader with a forklift frame ( 8 ).