JPH0654259B2 - Electronic balance - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic balance having an automatic sensitivity calibration function.

<Prior art> An electronic balance having an automatic sensitivity calibration function conventionally issues a sensitivity calibration command immediately when, for example, a certain time elapses or a certain temperature change occurs from the time of the last sensitivity calibration. It is configured to initiate a sensitivity calibration operation. This sensitivity calibration is usually performed by automatically loading a built-in weight having a known mass on the load sensitive section, and calculating and updating the sensitivity coefficient from the load detection output and the weight mass value at that time.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In the conventional electronic balance with a sensitivity calibration function as described above, for example, when a sensitivity calibration command is issued during measurement or immediately before the start of measurement, the measurer waits until the sensitivity calibration operation is completed. However, there is a problem in that measurement interruption and time loss are forced.

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic balance that can give advance notice to a measurer that sensitivity calibration will be performed, and can reasonably proceed with measurement work.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a timer for starting a time counting operation upon generation of a sensitivity calibration command is provided, and the sensitivity calibration operation is performed after the command is issued, and the set time of this timer is set. In addition to being configured to be executed after the passage of time, there is provided a notifying means for notifying the information related to the time until the start of the sensitivity calibration operation in response to the timing operation of the timer.

<Operation> The sensitivity calibration operation is not immediately executed when the sensitivity calibration command is generated, but the sensitivity calibration operation is started after a delay of a timer setting time, for example, about several minutes. Then, in the meantime, by notifying the time information until the start of the sensitivity calibration operation in time with the timer, the measurer can know the information related to the start time a predetermined time before the start of the actual sensitivity calibration operation. it can.

<Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

The load detection mechanism 1 includes a dish 11 and a load sensor 12 such as an electromagnetic force generator that engages with the dish 11, and when a force acting on the dish 11 or a built-in weight 2 is loaded,
Generate a corresponding electrical signal, the output signal of which is an amplifier 3,
It is taken into the control unit 5 via the switch 8 and the A / D converter 4.

A temperature sensor 7 is arranged close to the load sensor 12, and the output of the temperature sensor 7 is also a switch 8 and A-D.
It is taken into the control unit 5 via the converter 4. That is,
The switch 8 is configured to switch at a predetermined timing and to collect temperature data to the control unit 5 once every several times.

The built-in weight 2 applies a load to the load detection mechanism 1 by a weight adding / removing mechanism 6 including a lever 61, a cam 62 for inclining the lever 61, a motor 63 for rotating the cam 62, and the like. Alternatively, it can be detached.

The control unit 5 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and includes a CPU 51, a ROM 52 in which a program described below is written, a RAM 53 in which an area for storing digital conversion data from the load detection mechanism 1 and a work area are set, and a span. Non-volatile R for storing coefficients etc.
An AM 54 and an input / output port 55 for exchanging signals with external devices are provided.

In addition to the A / D converter 4 described above, the input / output port 55 is connected to the display unit 9 for displaying the measured value and the driver 64 for driving the motor 63 of the weight adding / removing mechanism 6.

In addition to the digital display 9a, the display unit 9 is provided with a lamp 9b for notifying information on the sensitivity calibration start time and an "A. CAL" lamp 9c for notifying the execution of the sensitivity calibration.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the contents of the program written in the ROM 52, and the operation will be described below with reference to this figure.

In a known measurement routine that collects load data, determines a measured value, and displays the measured value, the elapsed time from the previous sensitivity calibration time reaches a predetermined time, for example, 3.5 hours, or the amount of change in temperature data. When the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, for example, 0.5 ° C. from the time of the previous sensitivity calibration, the sensitivity calibration command is generated.

When the sensitivity calibration command is issued, the sensitivity calibration routine starts. In this sensitivity calibration routine, first, the timer is set to 2
At the same time as setting the minute, the clocking is started, and when the two minutes have elapsed, the sensitivity calibration operation is actually executed.

Then, the two minutes are divided into four time regions, the lamp 9b is flickered at 0.5 second intervals for 2 to 1 minutes before the start of the sensitivity calibration, and the same 0.3 minutes for 1 minute to 30 seconds. For another 30 seconds to 10 seconds, blinking is performed at 0.1 second intervals. Eventually, 10 seconds before the start of sensitivity calibration, this time "A. CAL"
The lamp 9c is turned on.

With the above lamp display, the measurer can predict the sensitivity calibration start time before the sensitivity calibration is executed, and the measurement is interrupted by the sudden start of the sensitivity calibration or waits until the sensitivity calibration ends. You can save the waste.

Here, in this embodiment, when the temperature change of the load sensor 12 of the electromagnetic force generating device or the like reaches a specified change amount such as 0.5 ° C., or at the time of the previous calibration, for example, 3.5 hours. A delay of 2 minutes will occur between the time when the specified time elapses and the time when sensitivity calibration is executed, but this 2 minutes is negligible for 0.5 ° C or 3.5 hours. Time does not affect the accuracy of the balance.

As a means of informing the time until the start of sensitivity calibration,
In addition to the above example, the blinking speed of a specific display object such as a lamp is continuously increased as the start time approaches, or the time until the start is displayed as a digital value, in a pie chart or bar graph It is possible to employ a method of displaying the time in an analog manner, or a method of gradually increasing the intermittent sound of the buzzer by changing to a display means such as a lamp.

Also, connect the sensitivity calibration cancel key to the input / output port 55,
If you press the key to perform calibration so that execution of automatic sensitivity calibration is prohibited, the sensitivity calibration will be performed as necessary if you want to continue measurement based on the notification of information related to the time until the start of automatic sensitivity calibration. It can be used to avoid it. In this case, it is preferable to instruct the execution of the sensitivity calibration at the end of the measurement.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the notification is started 2 minutes before the start of the sensitivity calibration, but it goes without saying that this time is arbitrary.

It is also possible to predict the time when the temperature difference at which the automatic sensitivity calibration should occur is predicted from the data from the temperature sensor 7 and notify the predicted time.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to notify the information about how long after the sensitivity calibration is performed from the predetermined time before the automatic sensitivity calibration is performed. The person can perform the measurement work while knowing the fact in advance, and the sensitivity calibration is suddenly executed during the measurement and interrupts the measurement as in the conventional method, or wastes time until the sensitivity calibration ends. The absurdity of is solved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the contents of a program written in its ROM 52. 1 ... Load detection mechanism 2 ... Built-in weight 5 ... Control unit 6 ... Weight adjustment mechanism 7 ... Temperature sensor 9 ... Display unit 9b ... Lamp 12 ... Load sensor

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuo Nishibayashi, No. 1 Kuwabara-cho, Nishinokyo, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture Shimadzu Corporation Sanjo Plant (56) References JP-A-60-13223 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A balance configured to automatically issue a command to perform a sensitivity calibration operation when a preset condition is satisfied is provided with a timer for starting timekeeping when the command is issued. The configuration is such that the sensitivity calibration operation is executed after the lapse of the set time of the timer, and a notification means is provided to notify the information related to the time until the start of the sensitivity calibration operation in response to the timing operation of the timer. Electronic balance to do.