Inclination detecting method and apparatus for the same
Inventors
Sato, Yoshikuni • Nagane, Yoshikazu • Suzaki, Satoshi
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12345561-B2
Publication Date
2025-07-01
Expiration Date
Abstract
An inclination of a weighing apparatus is automatically detected by the apparatus itself while preventing an increase in the number of components. In order to achieve the object described above, a weighing apparatus includes a weight sensor, a built-in weight to be loaded on the weight sensor, an adding/removing unit for adding/removing the built-in weight, a memory storing a theoretical value of the built-in weight, and an arithmetic processing unit, wherein the arithmetic processing unit includes an inclination angle computing unit configured to obtain an apparatus inclination angle from an arc-cosine of a weighing value of the built-in weight and the theoretical value of the built-in weight.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to an inclination-detecting weighing apparatus using a weight sensor and a built-in weight to be loaded on the weight sensor. The apparatus includes an adding/removing unit for adding/removing the built-in weight, and a memory storing a theoretical value of the built-in weight. An arithmetic processing unit obtains an apparatus inclination angle from an arc-cosine of a weighing value of the built-in weight and the theoretical value of the built-in weight.
The apparatus further detects and manages inclination problems by comparing the obtained apparatus inclination angle with an allowable inclination threshold and issuing a warning to prompt leveling when a problem is determined. In further embodiments, a temperature sensor is used to compute sensitivity drift from a specification value of sensitivity drift, a theoretical value of the built-in weight, and a temperature difference since a previous calibration, and the inclination angle is computed using a drift-compensated term.
Another embodiment stores an inclination abnormality threshold for suspecting a change in gravitational acceleration due to an installation location change. The arithmetic processing unit compares the apparatus inclination angle to the inclination abnormality threshold, and issues a warning to prompt calibration to correct the gravitational acceleration change when a problem is detected.
Claims Coverage
The provided independent claims are clm-00001 and clm-00006. Together they cover 7 inventive features: apparatus architecture for inclination detection, arc-cosine inclination angle computation from a built-in weight's weighing value and theoretical value, adding/removing the built-in weight, temperature-based sensitivity drift correction, allowable inclination threshold warning logic, allowable drift threshold warning logic, and inclination abnormality threshold warning logic for suspected gravitational acceleration change.
Arc-cosine inclination angle from built-in weighing value and theoretical built-in weight value
An arithmetic processing unit includes an inclination angle computing unit configured to obtain an apparatus inclination angle from an arc-cosine of a weighing value of the built-in weight and the theoretical value of the built-in weight.
Built-in weight adding/removing with memory storing theoretical value for inclination computation
A weighing apparatus comprising a weight sensor, a built-in weight to be loaded on the weight sensor, an adding/removing unit for adding/removing the built-in weight, and a memory storing a theoretical value of the built-in weight for inclination computation.
Temperature-based sensitivity drift correction for inclination angle
A temperature sensor is used to compute a sensitivity drift value from the theoretical built-in weight, a sensitivity drift specification value, and a temperature difference, and the inclination angle is obtained by subtracting the sensitivity drift value.
Allowable inclination threshold with warning to prompt leveling
The apparatus compares the apparatus inclination angle with an allowable inclination threshold and a warning unit issues a warning to prompt leveling when a problem is determined.
Allowable drift threshold with warning to prompt calibration
The arithmetic processing unit compares a sensitivity drift value with an allowable drift threshold and issues a warning to prompt a calibration when a problem is detected.
Inclination abnormality threshold for suspected gravitational acceleration change from installation location change
The apparatus stores an inclination abnormality threshold for suspecting a change in gravitational acceleration due to an installation location change, compares the apparatus inclination angle to that threshold, and issues a warning to prompt calibration to correct the gravitational acceleration change when a problem is detected.
Adding/removing built-in weight and calculating weighing value for arc-cosine inclination
An inclination detecting method includes adding/removing a built-in weight to/from a weight sensor, calculating a weighing value of the built-in weight, and obtaining an apparatus inclination angle from an arc-cosine of the weighing value of the built-in weight and a theoretical value of the built-in weight.
The claim coverage centers on computing apparatus inclination angle from an arc-cosine relationship using a built-in weight's weighing value relative to a stored theoretical built-in weight value, optionally corrected by temperature-based sensitivity drift. It further provides threshold-based warning logic to prompt leveling, to prompt calibration when allowable drift limits are exceeded, and to prompt calibration when inclination abnormality suggests a gravitational acceleration change due to an installation location change.
Stated Advantages
Issues a warning to prompt leveling based on comparison of the apparatus inclination angle with an allowable inclination threshold.
Computes a sensitivity drift value using temperature information and performs inclination computation using drift compensation.
Issues a warning to prompt calibration when sensitivity drift exceeds an allowable drift threshold.
Detects inclination abnormality to suspect a change in gravitational acceleration due to an installation location change and issues a warning to prompt calibration to correct the gravitational acceleration change.
Documented Applications
No documented applications found
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