Weigh feeder system
First Claim
1. A weigh feeding machine comprisinga container for a substance;
- discharge means for discharging the substance from the container at a controllable feed-out rate;
storage means for storing a first electrical signal corresponding to the desired feed-out rate;
means for sensing the weight of at least the substance being discharged and for producing a second electrical signal having a characteristic which corresponds to the value of said weight and changes for the different values of weight sensed;
digital circuit means for sampling the second electrical signal a plurality of times during each of a succession of time intervals;
storage means for storing the samples of said second electrical signal during each time interval;
digital computer means for computing a feed-out rate during each such time interval, from the samples taken during one such time interval, and for comparing an electrical signal representative of said computed feed-out rate with the first electrical signal representative of said desired feed-out rate, for producing, as a result of said comparison, a control electrical signal indicative of the desired changes, if any, in the feed-out rate of the discharge means; and
control means for controlling the discharging means in accordance with said control electrical signal to thereby maintain the feed-out of the substance from the container at the desired feed-out rate.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed herein is an automatically controlled weigh feeding apparatus including a container prefilled with a substance, a device for discharging the substance from the container at a controllable weight, apparatus for weighing the container and its contents and for producing an electrical signal proportional to that weight, a first amplifier for amplifying the electrical signal, a first analog-digital converter coupled to said first amplifier and a digital computer coupled to said first analog-digital converter for computing the weight of substance remaining in the container. A second amplifier is coupled to said first amplifier and a ramp off-set circuit which is controlled by the digital computer inputs a second signal to the second amplifier means having a controlled stepping output applied as a second input signal to the second amplifier to maintain the output of the second amplifier within a given selected range of amplitude during one time cycle of operation. A second analog-digital converter interposed between the second amplifier and the digital computer. The digital computer is adapted to compute a corrective signal based on the signal received for controlling the discharge of the substance from the container.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. A weigh feeding machine comprising
a container for a substance; -
discharge means for discharging the substance from the container at a controllable feed-out rate; storage means for storing a first electrical signal corresponding to the desired feed-out rate; means for sensing the weight of at least the substance being discharged and for producing a second electrical signal having a characteristic which corresponds to the value of said weight and changes for the different values of weight sensed; digital circuit means for sampling the second electrical signal a plurality of times during each of a succession of time intervals; storage means for storing the samples of said second electrical signal during each time interval; digital computer means for computing a feed-out rate during each such time interval, from the samples taken during one such time interval, and for comparing an electrical signal representative of said computed feed-out rate with the first electrical signal representative of said desired feed-out rate, for producing, as a result of said comparison, a control electrical signal indicative of the desired changes, if any, in the feed-out rate of the discharge means; and control means for controlling the discharging means in accordance with said control electrical signal to thereby maintain the feed-out of the substance from the container at the desired feed-out rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification