Quantitative measurement of fat, protein and lactose in dairy products
First Claim
1. Apparatus for measuring fat concentration in fat emulsions such as natural and synthetic dairy products comprising means for holding a product sample, means for irradiating said sample with energy in the infrared spectrum at a first wavelength characteristic of ester linkages and a second wavelength characteristic of saturated carbon-hydrogen bonds, and means for assessing fat concentration in the sample as a predetermined conjoint function of energy absorbed by said sample at both said first and second wavelengths.
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Abstract
Electro-optical apparatus for measurement of fat, protein, lactose and solids in milk wherein a milk sample in a test cell is irradiated with reference and measurement beams at differing wavelengths for fat, protein and lactose, and signals are stored indicative of uncorrected concentrations. A scaling and correction circuit includes cross-correction circuitry for compensating the effects on each reading caused by the other constituents. The signals so corrected are then provided in percentage by weight or weight over volume on suitable digital displays. For enhanced accuracy of fat concentration, infrared absorption is measured at both the carbon-hydrogen stretching wavelength (3.48 microns) and the wavelength of absorption at the ester linkages (5.72 microns), and the resulting readings are combined in a predetermined function for obtaining a reading of fat concentration.
29 Citations
7 Claims
- 1. Apparatus for measuring fat concentration in fat emulsions such as natural and synthetic dairy products comprising means for holding a product sample, means for irradiating said sample with energy in the infrared spectrum at a first wavelength characteristic of ester linkages and a second wavelength characteristic of saturated carbon-hydrogen bonds, and means for assessing fat concentration in the sample as a predetermined conjoint function of energy absorbed by said sample at both said first and second wavelengths.
- 5. A method of measuring fat concentration in dairy products comprising the steps of irradiating a test sample with infrared energy, determining infrared absorption of said sample at a first wavelength characteristic of carbon-hydrogen bonds and a second wavelength characteristic of ester linkages, and then quantitatively assessing the fat concentration of said sample as a predetermined function of absorption at both said first and second wavelengths.
Specification