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US 10,545,046 B2Granted
System and method for measuring grain cart weight
AssigneeBitstrata Systems Inc.
InventorsIan Robert Meier, Michael David Lockerbie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system of detecting loading and unloading of mobile containers such as grain carts utilizes two low pass filters to determine whether the contents of the container are changing by subtracting one filter signal from the other, and using the sign of the difference. Weighing performance is improved by utilizing accelerometers to compensate for measurement dynamics and non-level orientation. Failure and degradation of weight sensors is detected by testing sensor half bridges. Loading and unloading weights can be tied to specific vehicles by utilizing RF beacons.
Claims23
A system comprising:
- first and second low pass filters each operative to receive a set of weight signals for a container and filter the set of weight signals, the first low pass filter characterized by at least a first delay and the second low pass filter characterized by at least a second delay that is longer than the first delay;
- and
- a first set of logic coupled with the first and second low pass filters and operative to receive the filtered signals and to generate a weight-changing signal based thereon indicative of a weight of a material in the container changing when a difference between the filtered signals has a constant polarity and indicative of the weight of the material in the container not changing when the difference between the filtered signals has a changing polarity;
- and
- wherein the first set of logic is operative to determine the weight of the container and the material contained therein when the weight-changing signal changes between being indicative of the weight of the material in the container changing and being indicative of the weight of the material in the container not changing.
2 more elements
A method comprising:
- receiving and filtering a set of weight signals for a container with first and second low pass filters, the first low pass filter characterized by at least a first delay and the second low pass filter characterized by at least a second delay that is longer than the first delay;
- determining a difference between the filtered signals;
- generating a weight-changing signal, the weight-changing signal indicative of a weight of a material in the container changing when a difference between the filtered signals has a constant polarity and indicative of the weight of the material in the container not changing when the difference between the filtered signals has a changing polarity;
- and
- determining a weight of the container and the material contained therein when the weight-changing signal changes between being indicative of the weight of the material in the container changing and being indicative of the weight of the material in the container not changing.
2 more elements
A method comprising:
- receiving a plurality of weight signals for a container over a period of time, each indicative of a weight value of the container, including any material contained therein, at a particular time within the time period;
- determining, upon receipt of each of the plurality of weight signals, a current weight value of the container and comparing the current weight value with a prior weight value to determine a difference therebetween;
- establishing the prior weight value as a base weight value when the difference between the current weight value and the prior weight value changes from one of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or being indicative of the weight value of the container decreasing to the other of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or being indicative of the weight value of the container decreasing;
- determining, automatically subsequent to the establishing, a change in the weight of the container as a difference between the base weight value and the current weight value when the difference between the current weight value and the prior weight value changes from one of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or decreasing to the other of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or decreasing;
- and
- outputting the determined change in the weight of the container.
3 more elements
A system comprising:
- first logic operative to receive a plurality of weight signals for a container over a period of time, each indicative of a weight value of the container, including any material contained therein, at a particular time within the time period, the first logic being further operative to determine, upon receipt of each of the plurality of weight signals, a current weight value of the container, compare the current weight value with a prior weight value to determine a difference therebetween, establish the prior weight value as a base weight value when the difference changes from one of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or being indicative of the weight value of the container decreasing to the other of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or being indicative of the weight value of the container decreasing, determine, automatically subsequent to the establishment of the base weight value, the change in the weight of the container as a difference between the base weight value and the current weight value when the difference between the current weight value and the prior weight value changes from one of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or decreasing to the other of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or decreasing, and output a signal indicative of the determined change in the weight of the container.
A system comprising:
- a controller configured to receive a plurality of weight signals for a container over a period of time, each indicative of a weight value of the container, including any material contained therein, at a particular time within the time period, and output a signal indicative of a determined change in the weight of the container, the controller comprising:
- a current weight calculator device operative to determine, upon receipt of each of the plurality of weight signals, a current weight value of the container;
- a comparator coupled with the current weight calculator and operative to compare the current weight value with a prior weight value to determine a difference therebetween, and further establish the prior weight value as a base weight value when the difference changes from one of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or being indicative of the weight value of the container decreasing to the other of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or being indicative of the weight value of the container decreasing;
- and
- a transaction weight calculator coupled with the comparator and operative to determine, automatically subsequent to the establishment of the base weight value, the change in the weight of the container as a difference between the base weight value and the current weight value when the difference between the current weight value and the prior weight value changes from one of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or being indicative of the weight value of the container decreasing to the other of being indicative of the weight value of the container increasing or being indicative of the weight value of the container decreasing.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.