In an embodiment, a sensor substrate includes a first end, a second end, and a body. The body contains provisions for accommodating one or more sense elements. The first end and the second end contain attachment points for attaching the sensor substrate to a shaft. In addition, the first end and the second end include curved portions. For a particular end, a spacing of the attachment points and/or a depth of the curved portion may define, in part, a flexibility of the end. This flexibility may be used to control a sensitivity of the sense elements.

A load measuring apparatus includes a waterproof load cell having a load measuring surface, of which the length is substantially equal to a diameter of the substrate, and a base plate that supports the waterproof load cell. The load measuring apparatus is set in a substrate cleaning apparatus like a substrate, and measures a load applied from the roll cleaning tool of the substrate cleaning apparatus using the waterproof load cell.

In an embodiment, a sensor substrate includes a first end, a second end, and a body. The body contains provisions for accommodating one or more sense elements. The first end and the second end contain attachment points for attaching the sensor substrate to a shaft. In addition, the first end and the second end include curved portions. For a particular end, a spacing of the attachment points and/or a depth of the curved portion may define, in part, a flexibility of the end. This flexibility may be used to control a sensitivity of the sense elements.

A trailer coupling for a towing vehicle, having a coupling carrier, which includes, in particular, a coupling arm and at whose free end a coupling body, in particular, a coupling ball is arranged for connecting a trailer, and which coupling carrier is fixedly or movably arranged on a mount which is or can be attached to the towing vehicle, and having a sensor arrangement which has at least one sensor and has the purpose of sensing a traction force and/or thrust force which can be caused by a traction load acting on the coupling element during a traction operation of the trailer and of outputting a force signal representing the traction force and/or thrust force, and having an evaluation device for determining a trailer mass value of the trailer on the basis of the force signal.

The present invention features a micrometer-scale torsion balance device comprising a rigid mass and two or more nanoribbons attached to the rigid mass. The rigid mass may be suspended by the two or more nanoribbons. The two or more nanoribbons may be placed under tensile stress. A local acceleration value may be derived from a torsional stiffness of the two or more nanoribbons. In some embodiments, the rigid mass may comprise silicon. In some embodiments, the two or more nanoribbons may comprise silicon nitride. In some embodiments, the rigid mass may have a polygon shape, the polygon shape having four or more sides. A side of the four or more sides may be longer than all others.

An instrument for determining the spreading capacity of a coating or a surface, including a plate on which a gripping system is secured, the tool including a measuring system configured to measure the coating to be spread, wherein the measuring system includes at least one force sensor for generating data relating to the average force applied on the instrument, the maximum force applied on the instrument and the duration, in order to provide a signal representative of the capacity of the coating to be spread or the surface to be spread.