Hyer Industries, Inc.

Frank S Hyer

Raymond Karosas

Richard J Tolles

John E Duffy

Paul M Kintner

A load sensing system having at least one load sensing assembly for use with a weigh frame, each assembly including at least a first lever and a second lever. Each lever has a lever longitudinal axis, a lever fulcrum section, a lever load section, and a lever connector section spaced from the lever fulcrum section and the lever load section along the lever longitudinal axis. For each lever, a flexure plate is aligned in parallel with the lever longitudinal axis and has a middle bearing portion and opposing end portions with one of the end portions fixedly attached to its respective lever. Each lever fulcrum section has a lever bearing surface including one of (i) a line-of-contact rounded bearing edge oriented perpendicular to the lever longitudinal axis or (ii) a flat bearing face. The lever bearing surface of each lever touches the middle bearing portion of the flexure plate. Each assembly further includes a sensor having a support surface, a force transmission platform, and an output representative of total force applied to the force transmission platform. At least one force transmission link is adapted to connect each lever connector section to the force transmission platform, and at least one load link is adapted to connect the lever load section of each lever to the weigh frame.

Load sensing system with stabilized fulcrums

Imperfections in conveyor belting and its supporting elements can adversely affect weighing accuracy of belt scales, particularly when weighing and/or metering low density materials, such as those encountered in the snack food industry. A system and methods for a belt conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention provide simultaneous benefits of both short and long weigh spans. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a virtual weigh span may be programmably set to adjust for variations in the belt conveyor weighing system. Advantages include, higher degrees of accuracy and calibration to account for changes in the belt or belting system over time using non-mechanical adjustments. In addition, weight measurement error producing effects, some that may not be particularly known, may be reduced.

System and methods for belt conveyor weighing based on virtual weigh span

A load sensing system having at least one load sensing assembly, each assembly including a flexure plate with an upper region extending along a longitudinal length of the flexure plate, a lower region disposed below the upper region, and at least one flex region disposed between the upper region and the lower region. The lower region defines a mounting feature for an end of a weigh idler and is capable of substantially only lateral movement relative to the upper region. Each assembly further includes a load cell and a bracket having a first end rigidly connected to a force transmission surface of the load cell and having a second end rigidly connected at a plurality of areas to the upper region of the flexure plate to rigidly capture the upper region while suspending the remainder of the flexure plate.

Load sensing system with flexure plate

A scale having a load platform suspended by multiple horizontally spaced suspension members. Tensions on the suspension members apply torques to a load transfer linkage comprising a plurality of horizontally extending, torsionally rigid torque transfer members arranged for additive transfer of the torques to a lever counterbalancing and indicating device. Equality of the torque arms at all connections of the suspension members to the rigid members is achieved by allowing the suspension members to extend substantially vertically and to bear with minimal lateral forces on calibrating sleeves of predetermined uniform and equal diameters received on the rigid members.

Weighing scale

An integrating system for measuring the total weight of material moved by an endless belt conveyor over a weighing scale. The system compensates for the effect of temperature upon the dimensions of the structures that transmit belt loading forces to the load cell. A temperature responsive transducer at the conveyor provides an input to a temperature compensating multiplier which introduces a temperature compensating factor into the weight computation.

Temperature-compensated belt scale

A compound screw feeder for uniform volumetric flow rates of particulate solids, suitable for low, nonpulsating feed rates, comprises coaxial inner and outer screw flights. The flights both extend throughout the feeder section and produce a net discharge flow rate dependent on their respective feed directions and rates of feed. Various forms of the feeder may be employed in a loss of weight screw feeder system.

Screw feeder with multiple concentric flights

A hopper-feeder system for feeding stored powders at a uniform, controllable and predetermined rate. A spiral convoluted stirring agitator in close proximity and conforming to the hopper wall is rotated in a direction tending to lift and dilate the powder, counteracting its tendency to bridge and to undergo intermittent or non-uniform changes in density and rate of discharge. The head load upon the feeder as well as the material damping effect on the feeder are controlled by a column cutter on the agitator that undercuts the column of powder extending through the hopper opening.

Powder feeder

When a weigh feeding system which senses the rate of material feed by weighing the material and automatically controls the actual feed on the basis of a departure of the sensed rate of material feed from a desired rate, thereby to produce an error signal, is subjected to a major or sporadic disturbance such that the sensed rate departs from the desired feed rate by more than a predetermined amount, the system limits the feed rate used to produce the error signal to a synthetic amount no matter by how far the sensed feed rate departs from the desired rate, the values of said predetermined amount and said synthetic amount being selected in accordance with the nature of the system, the degree of accuracy desired, and the nature of the expected disturbances, thereby to improve the overall accuracy of the system when subjected to such disturbances.

Adaptation to major or sporadic disturbance error in weigh feeding

A wall-mounted agitator for particulate material having an agitator panel within a gravity conveying wall for the material and a frame with a vibrator external to the wall and attached to the panel by means of resilient mounts. The mounts each include annular flange means for attachment to an aperture in the wall and an elastic annulus of sleeve-like form. The annulus extends from the flange means to the panel and frame, respectively, in opposite directions.

Wall-mounted agitator for particulate material

A scale position compensation means for a conveyor belt material transport system, the system including a conveyor belt having a tail end and a discharge end, belt drive means, and a weight signal generating means. Belt travel signal generating means produce a belt travel signal representing the change of belt position. The weight signal generating means produce a first digital weight signal representing a weight of material associated with a portion of the belt adjacent to a first reference point located between the tail and discharge ends. The scale position compensation means are responsive to the first digital weight signal and the belt travel signal to produce a second digital weight signal representing a weight of material associated with the abovementioned portion of the belt when it is adjacent to a second reference point located between the first reference point and the discharge end. The compensation means comprise a memory for storing the first digital weight signal for a time interval having a duration related to the rate of change of belt position and to the distance between the first and second reference points.

Conveyor belt system with positional transformation of weight data

A scale position compensation means for a conveyor belt material transport system, the system including a conveyor belt having a tail end and a discharge end, belt drive means, and a weight signal generating means. Belt travel signal generating means produce a belt travel signal representing the change of belt position. The weight signal generating means produce a first digital weight signal representing a weight of material associated with a portion of the belt adjacent to a first reference point located between the tail and discharge ends. The scale position compensation means are responsive to the first digital weight signal and the belt travel signal to produce a second digital weight signal representing a weight of material associated with the above-mentioned portion of the belt when it is adjacent to a second reference point located between the first reference point and the discharge end. The compensation means comprise a memory for storing the first digital weight signal for a time interval having a duration related to the rate of change of belt position and to the distance between the first and second reference points.

A system and method for measuring the level of bulk material stored in a bin, tank, silo or the like. A multiple link chain is disposed along an axis between two vertically displaced reference points with the chain having an upper end above and a lower end below the top surface of bulk material in a bin. All chain links above the top surface of the bulk material are free to rotate with respect to their adjacent links about the chain axis by a predetermined angular displacement before interferingly engaging the adjacent links. A rotational driving means is coupled to the upper end of the chain, said driving means having a predetermined torque limit. The driving means rotates the upper end of the chain about its axis until it encounters a torsional impedance exceeding its torque limit, that impedance being due to bulk material in contact with the lateral surfaces of the chain links which are below the top surface. At this time, the upper end of the chain is angularly displaced by an amount equal to the sum of the individual angular displacements of all links which are disposed above the top surface of the bulk material and thus free to rotate. The angular displacement of the upper end of the chain provides a measure of the level of bulk material in the bin.

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Duxbury, MA, United States of America

Frank S Hyer