Load cell and temperature correction of the same

• US 4,747,456 A
• Filed: 03/30/1987
• Issued: 05/31/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd. (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd. (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kitagawa, Tohru, Yamashita, Takaharu
• Primary Examiner(s): MILLER JR, GEORGE
• Application Number:
  US07/031,670
• Time in Patent Office: 428 Days
• Field of Search: 177/211, 338/2, 338/3, 73/862.65, 73/766
• US Class Current: 177/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/2243 the supports being parallelogram-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/2281 for temperature variations

Abstract

A load cell and a method of correcting the same are provided wherein a beam member on which an insulator film is formed is prevented from being trimmed by a laser beam upon laser trimming thereof. The load cell comprises a span resistor member and a zero point resistor member both formed separately of the beam member and including a span temperature correcting thin film resistor and a zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor, respectively, each of which has a temperature coefficient and is formed on a substrate. The resistor members are applied to the insulator film on the beam member and the thin film resistors are connected to a bridge circuit. The thin film resistors are trimmed with a laser beam to correct the span temperature correcting thin film resistor and the zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor for temperature. The substrates intercept a laser beam upon laser trimming of the thin film resistors.

Claims

1. A load cell, comprising:

a beam member having a thin material deformable portion thereon;

an insulator film formed directly on a surface of said beam member;

a bridge circuit formed on said insulator film and including thin film strain gauges and a zero point balance correcting resistor wherein said thin film strain gauges are formed on said film over said thin material deformable portion of said beam;

leads of thin film conductors for connection of said bridge circuit;

a span resistor member including a first substrate applied to said insulator film away from said thin material deformable portion of said beam member and a span temperature correcting thin film resistor formed on said substrate and connected to said bridge circuit, said span temperature correcting thin film resistor having a temperature coefficient; and

a zero point resistor member including a second substrate applied to said insulator film away from said thin material deformable portion of said beam member and a zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor formed on said substrate and connected to said bridge circuit, said zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor having a temperature coefficient.

2. A load cell according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said span temperature correcting thin film resistor and said zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor is a thin Ni film.

3. A load cell according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said span temperature correcting thin film resistor and said zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor is a thin Ti film.

4. A load cell according to claim 1, wherein said substrates are made of a ceramics material.

5. A load cell according to claim 1, wherein said substrates are applied to portions of said beam member at which said substrates do not have an influence on deformation of said beam member.

6. A load cell according to claim 1, wherein said substrate on which said span temperature correcting thin film resistor is formed and said substrate on which said zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor is formed are formed as separate members from each other.

7. A method of correcting the temperature of a load cell, comprising:

forming an insulator film directly on a surface of a thin material deformable portion of a beam member;

forming a bridge circuit of thin film strain gauges including a zero point balanced correcting resistor and leads for electric connection of said bridge circuit on said insulator film by selective etching after formation of a thin film wherein said gauges are formed on said insulator film over said thin material deformable portion of said beam member;

applying to said insulator film away from said thin material deformable portion of said beam member a span resistor member on which a span temperature correcting thin film resistor having a predetermined temperature coefficient is formed on a first substrate;

applying to said insulator film away from said thin material deformable portion of said beam member a zero point resistor member on which a zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor having a predetermined temperature coefficient is formed on a second substrate;

connecting said span temperature correcting thin film resistor and said zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor to said bridge circuit; and

trimming said two thin film resistors with a laser beam to correct the temperature of said load cell.

8. A method of correcting the temperature of a load cell according to claim 7, wherein said zero point balance temperature correcting thin film resistor includes a parallelly connected resistor element and a serially connected resistor element therein.