DETECTOR MEANS FOR PULVERULENT, GRANULAR OR FLAKY MATERIAL

• US 3,589,813 A
• Filed: 01/05/1968
• Issued: 06/29/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/1967
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sturzinger Oskar Edwin
• Original Assignee: Sturzinger Oskar Edwin
• Inventors: STURZINGER OSKAR EDWIN
• Application Number:
  US04/695,995
• Time in Patent Office: 1,271 Days
• US Class Current: 356/72
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/0618 of the filter type G01N15/0643 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/4738 Diffuse reflection precedence is given to G01N21/55 - G01N21/57 if specular component is taken into consideration, e.g. also for testing fluids, fibrous materials
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/14 Rainfall or precipitation gauges measuring volume in general G01F

Abstract

A detector means for loose, flowable bulk material, such as pulverulent, granular, or flaky material, and particularly snow, comprises a surface on which such material is accumulating, a light projector emitting a beam of light and projecting the beam onto the bulk material accumulating on said surface, said bulk material reflecting the light impinging thereon as highly diffused light, and a photoelectric cell is arranged to receive said reflected diffused light, whereby a signal will be emitted by said cell when a certain amount of material has accumulated on the surface. The surface on which the material accumulates is made to optically contrast from the accumulating material, so as to provide for a marked difference in the amount of diffused light projected by the surface without accumulated material thereon, as compared with the amount of diffused light reflected by the accumulated material on the surface.

Claims

2. Detector means according to claim 1, in which said revolving accumulation surface is rotatably driven by a motor having its number of revolutions controlled in dependence of the output signal of said photoelectric ceLl, whereby the number of revolutions of the motor forms a means for determination of the rate of accumulation of the bulk material on said revolving accumulation surface.

3. Detector means according to claim 1, in which said light projector is arranged to emit a predetermined kind of light, and said photoelectric cell is sensibilized to respond only to said predetermined kind of light emitted by the light projector.

4. Detector means according to claim 1, in which at least one color filter is arranged between the light projector and the photoelectric cell.