Dickey-john Corporation

David B Funk

William E Midden

David M Beams

Wesley H Harker

James D Kallmeyer

James B Kallmeyer

Dennis E Grim

A measurement apparatus is provided for use with a moisture tester of the type wherein the moisture content of a sample is determined as a function of the change in capacitance of a sample-receiving test cell when a sample is present therein from the capacitance of said test cell when empty. The tester also includes a reference oscillator and a test cell oscillator in circuit with the test cell, and a variable capacitor coupled in circuit with the test cell and the oscillators for bringing respective outputs of the two oscillators into a balanced condition both with the test cell empty and with a sample present in the test cell. The variable capacitor comprises a fixed member and a movable member which is rotatable through 360 degrees relative to the fixed member. The measurement apparatus comprises a stepping drive coupled with the rotatable member for incrementally rotating the movable member a predetermined number of steps of equal angular extent per revolution; a control circuit is provided for incrementally energizing the stepping drive in a predetermined fashion to achieve incremental rotation thereof. The control circuit also defines a predetermined and repeatable base position of the movable member with respect to the fixed member. A counting circuit counts the number of steps of the stepping drive during rotation of the movable member between the base position and any other position with respect to said fixed member; whereby the capacitance value between any two given settings of the variable capacitor may be determined as a function of the number of steps counted by the counting circuit during rotation between the base position and each of the given settings, respectively.

Moisture tester

A novel method for preparing a ground-meat sample for compositional analysis and an apparatus for performing the method are disclosed. The method comprises a series of steps. The first step includes obtaining a predetermined quantity of ground meat. Next, the meat is formed into a layer having a predetermined thickness. Then, a first portion of the layer is isolated from the remainder. The isolated first portion is then urged into an elongated, hollow member having an axis, an open end, and a resistive end movable along the axis relative to the open end. The isolated first portion and the resistive end are then urged together so as to produce a substantially air void-free isolate out of the first portion. Next, a subsequent portion of the layer is isolated from the remainder and urged into the hollow member and against the isolate already in the hollow member thereby adding to the isolate already in the hollow member and causing the resistive end and the isolate engaging the resistive end to move axially through the hollow member. Lastly, the hollow member is repeatedly filled with subsequent portions, in the manner described immediately above, until and hollow member is predeterminedly filled with the ground meat thereby producing an analyzable meat sample. The apparatus for loading the ground-meat sample into the elongated hollow member comprises closure and packing members. The closure member defines the axially-movable resistive end.

Method and apparatus for preparing a meat sample for determination of

A test apparatus is provided for measuring the proportion of at least one constituent in a sample of material, which constituent bears a known relationship to the electrical conductivity of the sample. The test apparatus comprises a sensor including both a receptacle for receiving a sample of material and a field producing coil for producing an electromagnetic field within the receptacle. The coil is also designed confining said electromagnetic field to a predetermined, fixed volume within the receptacle and for producing a substantially constant magnitude electromagnetic field throughout this predetermined, fixed volume. A monitoring circuit is coupled with the sensor and is responsive thereto for producing an output signal which bears a predetermined relationship with the real impedance of the sensor and therefore with the conductivity of the sample.

Method and apparatus for non-destructively determining ingredients of a

An analysis instrument for measuring the quantity of a constituent present in a sample of a material comprises a housing having a sample receptacle mounted therein to receive a sample of the material. A filter assembly is mounted in the housing including a plurality of filter elements for passing a corresponding plurality of predetermined frequencies of radiant energy. A motor is provided for selectively providing relative movement between the sample receptacle and filter assembly so as to place individual ones of the filter elements into registry with the sample receptacle. A radiant energy source is mounted within the housing to direct radiant energy onto the surface of the sample through selected ones of the filter elements as each moves into registry therewith, to provide reflected radiant energy at the predetermined frequency of each of the selected filter elements. A sensor is mounted to receive the reflected radiant energy and provide electrical signals corresponding thereto. A second motor is provided for relative movement between the sample receptacle and the sensor so that the sensor receives reflected energy from a plurality of locations on the surface of the sample. Electrical circuits are provided for receiving the electrical signals from the sensor and providing a readout therefrom corresponding to the quantity of the constituent being measured.

Optical grain analysis instrument

An analysis instrument for measuring selected constituents present in a sample of a material such as a bulk commodity includes a test cell to receive the sample. The test cell comprises a capacitor whose electrical properties are modified in accordance with the dielectric constant of the sample, which dielectric constant is a function of the contents of the sample. Weight and temperature sensors are provided for producing signals corresponding to the weight and temperature of the sample in the test cell. An electronic measuring circuit is connected to a test circuit including the test cell capacitor and to the weight and temperature sensors for producing an indication of the contents of the sample. The measuring circuit produces the indication by correcting a measurement taken across the test cell in accordance with the variation in the temperature of the sample from a reference temperature and the variation in the bulk density of the sample from a reference bulk density. Control circuits are provided for controlling the overall operation of the analysis instrument in accordance with predetermined instructions stored therein and with operator instructions from a control panel.

Analysis instrument

An analysis instrument for measuring selected constituents present in a sample of a material such as a bulk commodity includes a test cell to receive the sample. The test cell comprises a capacitor whose electrical properties are modified in accordance with the dielectric constant of the sample, which dielectric constant is a function of the contents of the sample. A hopper is mounted above the test cell for holding a quantity of the commodity to be tested and doors forming a bottom of the hopper are selectively openable to introduce the material from the hopper into the test cell. A strike off mechanism is provided for striking off the sample level with the top of the test cell to assure a constant volume of sample material therein. Weight and temperature sensors are provided for measuring the weight and temperature of the sample. An unloading mechanism is provided for rotating the test cell to remove the sample therefrom upon completion of the measurements.

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Auburn, IL, United States of America

David B Funk