Terraillon

Jean L Prost

Paul Pidoux

The device includes: a set of four strain-gauges mounted on a cantilevered beam, which gauges are electrically connected among themselves in the form of a bridge (9), in a manner such that said bridge produces an output voltage (.DELTA.V) which is a function of the magnitude of the force applied to the beam, when the bridge (9) is supplied with current; a source of voltage (10), designed to supply the bridge (9); an analog-to-digital converter (16), connected to the output of the amplifier (14), with which there is associated a microprocessor (24); and a display unit (13), connected to an output of the microprocessor (24), which is designed to allow the display of a signal that is representative of the magnitude of the force applied to the beam. In order to eliminate the need for auxiliary stabilizing and compensating circuits, required if a high-quality circuit of this type is to be constructed, the analog-to-digital converter (16) is of the two-slope type encompassing switching mechanisms (19, 20) controlled by the microprocessor (24) in order to use the supply voltage (10) as a reference voltage.

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Geneva, Switzerland

Jean L Prost