Mettler-toledo Gmbh

Mettler-toledo Ag

Hansruedi Künzi

Roger Leisinger

Yves Marmier

Daniel Reber

Jean-Christophe Emery

Patrik Morf

Bruno Mattle

Cyrill Bucher

Hansjürg Rotach

Stefan Bühler

Marc Blochlinger

Markus Pfister

Hans-Peter Von Arb

A method is disclosed to operate and control a balance which has a control unit that is operable to execute an operating- and/or applications program and is equipped for this task with a processor and a memory unit. The balance also has at least one entry device to give command signals to the control unit. The control unit uses the command signals given by the entry device to control one of at least two function modules that are assigned to the entry device by the control unit dependent on the operating status of the operating and/or applications program. The entry device can therefore control a plurality of function modules, hardware and/or software modules, e.g., for the opening and closing of the doors of the weighing compartment, the zeroing of the balance, the setting of tare, or the printing of the measurement results. The assignment of the function modules to the entry device is signaled to the user by an indicating device. The user is further given a confirming signal by a feedback device after the entry device has been actuated. The entry device, the indicating device, and the confirming feedback device can be arranged separate from the balance in the housing of a freely movable input unit.

Method of operating a balance, and balance

The method and the device serve to monitor the alignment of a measuring instrument, specifically a balance. To perform this function, the monitoring device is equipped with an inclination sensor based on the principle of a spirit level, with a container filled with a fluid in which a bubble is formed. According to the invention, the position of the bubble is measured optically by means of a radiating element that is arranged on one side of the bubble and serves to emit a radiation, and a sensor element that is arranged on the opposite side of the bubble and serves to receive the radiation. The radiating element, preferably a light-emitting diode, and the sensor element, preferably a photodiode, together define the sensor axis (sx) on which the bubble is centered as long as the sensor axis runs parallel to the axis of the gravity force. Furthermore, the sensor element is flanked by at least two reference elements that are likewise receiving the radiation. The reference elements serve to test whether the intensity of the radiation is within a permissible range. A function test is performed automatically inside the monitoring device in order to verify that the monitoring device is functioning correctly.

Method and device for monitoring the alignment of a measuring instrument, and measuring instrument

Input/output device

Precision balance

A device for monitoring an operating condition is incorporated in a balance with a weighing cell, an electronic weighing circuit arrangement (), an output unit (), and at least one electronic inclination sensor (). The circuit arrangement () includes a signal-processing device (), a memory device () as well as a time clock (). Based on a sensor signal received from the electronic inclination sensor (), the signal-processing device () determines a quantity that is indicative of the operating condition of the balance. The signal-processing device () also determines the current time and assigns a time value to the quantity that represents the operating condition. The resultant vector-like sets of time and operating condition data are transmitted to and stored in the memory device (), so that the data are at all times available for transmission to an output unit ().

Device for monitoring the operating conditions of a balance

Terminal

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Greifensee, Switzerland

Hansruedi Künzi