Method and apparatus for measuring objects, particularly useful for measuring diamonds
First Claim
1. A method of measuring the mass of individual objects within a predetermined range of sizes, comprising:
- conveying said objects towards an oscillatable probe, having a predetermined mass and a vacuum port of smaller dimensions than those of said objects;
applying vacuum to said vacuum port to attract and hold thereto one of said individual objects to thereby add its mass to the mass of the oscillatable probe;
measuring for a predetermined time interval the oscillating frequency of said oscillatable probe while the individual object attracted thereto is held by the vacuum, applied to said vacuum port;
utilizing the measured oscillating frequency of the probe and said object attracted thereto to compute the mass of said object;
and releasing said vacuum to release said object from said vacuum port preparatory to using said probe to measure the mass of another one of said individual objects.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for measuring the mass of individual objects, particularly small diamonds, within a predetermined range of sizes, by conveying the objects towards an oscillatable probe having a predetermined mass and a vacuum port of smaller dimensions than those of the objects; applying vacuum to the vacuum port to attract and hold thereto one of the individual objects to thereby add its mass to the mass of the oscillatable probe; measuring the oscillating frequency of the oscillatable probe while the individual object attracted thereto is held by the vacuum applied to the vacuum port, and utilizing the measured oscillating frequency of the probe and the object attracted thereto to compute the mass of the object, before releasing the vacuum to release the object.
55 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method of measuring the mass of individual objects within a predetermined range of sizes, comprising:
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conveying said objects towards an oscillatable probe, having a predetermined mass and a vacuum port of smaller dimensions than those of said objects;
applying vacuum to said vacuum port to attract and hold thereto one of said individual objects to thereby add its mass to the mass of the oscillatable probe;
measuring for a predetermined time interval the oscillating frequency of said oscillatable probe while the individual object attracted thereto is held by the vacuum, applied to said vacuum port;
utilizing the measured oscillating frequency of the probe and said object attracted thereto to compute the mass of said object;
and releasing said vacuum to release said object from said vacuum port preparatory to using said probe to measure the mass of another one of said individual objects. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. Apparatus for measuring the mass of individual objects within a predetermined range of sizes, comprising;
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an oscillatable probe having a predetermined mass and a vacuum port of smaller dimensions than those of said objects;
a conveyor for conveying said individual objects towards said probe;
a vacuum source for applying vacuum to said vacuum port of the probe so as to attract and hold thereto one of said individual objects to thereby add its mass to the mass of the probe;
and an electrical measuring system for measuring the oscillating frequency of the probe while the object attracted to its vacuum port is held thereto by the vacuum at the vacuum port, and for utilizing the measured frequency of the probe and object to compute the mass of the object. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification