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New Salem inventor launches sensor to aid in semi loading

Written by: Marc Conrad

Farmers who have have wrestled with positioning a trailer for loading and unloading usually have more than a semi load of frustrating tales to share.

Unless the auger or other loading system is properly positioned to the sweet spot of the trailer being loaded , the payload of wheat or other produce can result in unfilled, wasted space within the trailer. It also can result in spillage on the ground when a load overflows the top of trailer.

(Submitted Photo) Larry Mosbrucker has invented a new laser system designed to make it easier to load and unload semi trailers.

Until recently, the only way to position a trailer for loading and unloading has been a tedious process of trial and error; backing and moving the load backward and forward, climbing in and out of the cab, and checking and rechecking the loading position. The process is dangerous, time consuming and full of wear and tear on the driver.

Inventor Larry M. Mosbrucker, a 49-year-old New Salem farmer, has created a new laser device that takes the guess work out of positioning semi loads for loading and unloading.

Called the STOPSENSOR, Mosbrucker’s invention fires a laser beam at the trailer that reflects back to the sensor when a beam hits a reflector mounted on the trailer marking the sweet spot for loading or unloading. Once the reflector beams back, a red light on the sensor signal the trucker that the trailer is properly positioned for accepting its load.

“The STOPSENSOR eliminates the trial and error required to park the trailer so the loading system hits the sweet spot. It removes all of the backing, jumping down from the cab and checking and rechecking trailer position,” Mosbrucker says. “My inventions is accurate to within a half-inch of the optimal loading spot.”

The sensor can be mounted on an auger or properly positioned tripod, Mosbrucker says. “The STOPSENSOR system substantially reduces times for loading and unloading, saves the driver wear and tear, and also guarantees the trailer load is maximized and that none of the load ends up on the ground.”

Mosbrucker said spilling custom seed on the ground can be expensive for the hauler. “A bushel of certified seed on the ground, which is about a waste bucket full, can cost a hauler $20,” Mosbrucker says.

Earlier this year, the North Dakota Department of Commerce awarded Mosbrucker with two awards in an inventor competition that netted him $15,500 in prize money. “I won the the Idea Champion Award and the Value Added Ag and Advanced Manufacturing Award,” he says.

The prize money helped Mosbrucker offset the $40,000 he plowed into perfecting his sensor over the past two years. The money was used to determine components that would work best. “We tried all types of sensors and parts as we put the sensor system for parking together. It took a lot of experimenting to come up with a combination that worked well for this application and also was priced so that it is affordable.

Mosbrucker will begin marketing his sensor kits to the public at the State Fair in Minot July 20 through 28. He will offer the entire kit complete with accessories for $1,500 plus tax. Anyone who wants to preview the invention before the State Fair can do so by going to www.stopsensor.com.

Mosbrucker, who will take orders for the sensor kits for sale at the State Fair, expects farmers to be his initial customers. The kit will eliminate $15-per-hour spotters used to position trucks at harvest time. “Spotters are expensive. And finding them in today’s tight job market – with the oil boom – is difficult” Mosbrucker says.

But the STOPSENSOR has the potential to solve parking-loading-unloading problems for other industries that depend on semi-trailers of product, including coal mining, fertilizer, asphalt and cement haulers. “A South African cement hauler is among those who have requested information,” Mosbrucker says.

Asked how he came up with the parking invention, Mosbrucker says pain rather than necessity was the mother of his invention. “I broke both my heels when I fell off the top of a trailer on my birthday, Feb. 18, 2004. “That injury made it very painful for me to get in and out of the cab when checking positioning when hauling grain. The pain prompted ideas that would eliminate the need to keep checking the placement of the trailer. It didn’t take long until I was experimenting with a laser-sensor system.”

A New Salem High School graduate, Mosbrucker never went to college. But he has been a voracious reader since high school, usually devouring a book a day. And he’s has had plenty of on-the-job experience to hone his problem-solving skills since he began farming and ranching at 16.

In addition, he has worked for a power plant, and also has operated a commercial hay operation. “All of these experiences have played into this invention.”

The sensor is being manufactured by Amber Waves Electronics of Richardton. The sensor company operates under the name LaurusTech Industries, LLC. Mosbrucker, who is the CEO, say he expects to introduce more time-saving devices for positioning equipment to agricultyure and industrial industries.

 

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Comments

  1. Thank You, Matt Bunk and Marc Conrad for doing this story. It is critical for a start-up co. to have the media’s help in launching their company and create jobs in the local area. I wish the Great Plains Examinar well in your future endeavors.
    Thanks

    Larry M. Mosbrucker
    StopSensor

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