Modular wireless scale system comprising microscales
OwnerMichael Carawayinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A modular wireless scale system comprising microscales comprises a master scale that may be configured to be used with one or more slave scales. The master scale includes a heavy load cell and a light load cell disposed on opposite sides of a cuboid master housing. The master scale housing encloses a master computer-based microcontroller, a wireless transceiver, an accelerometer, and a power source, and may optionally include a display. The master scale may be used as a stand-alone scale for weights up to the maximum weight supported by the heavy load cell and the scale housing. Each of the slave scales includes a heavy load cell supported by a cuboid housing that encloses a slave computer-based microcontroller, a wireless transceiver, and a power source.
Claims19
A system for weighing materials comprising:
- a master scale, said master scale comprising:
- a master scale housing;
- a computer-based master controller within said master scale housing;
- a heavy load cell supported on a first side of said master scale housing, said heavy load cell being capable of weighing heavy loads and configured to provide a signal representative of a heavy weight measurement to said master controller;
- a light load cell supported on an opposite side of said master scale housing with respect to said heavy load cell, said light load cell being capable of weighing light loads and configured to provide a signal representative of a light weight measurement to said controller;
- and
- a wireless transceiver within said master scale housing and responsive to said master controller;
- and
- two or more slave scales, each of said slave scales comprising:
- a slave scale housing;
- a computer-based slave controller within said slave scale housing;
- a heavy load cell supported by said slave scale housing and capable of weighting heavy loads and configured to provide a signal representative of a heavy weight measurement to said slave controller;
- and
- a wireless transceiver within said slave scale housing and responsive to said slave controller;
- and
- wherein said slave controller is responsive to said master controller through wireless communication.
A method for weighing a load comprising the steps of:
- placing a master scale, said master scale comprising:
- a master scale housing;
- a computer-based first controller within said master scale housing;
- a heavy load cell supported on a first side of said master scale housing, said heavy load cell being capable of weighing heavy loads and configured to provide a signal representative of a heavy weight measurement to said first controller;
- a light load cell supported on an opposite side of said master scale housing with respect to said heavy load cell, said light load cell being capable of weighing light loads and configured to provide a signal representative of a light weight measurement to said controller;
- and
- a wireless master transceiver within said master scale housing and responsive to said first controller;
- determining an orientation of said first scale, said orientation being one of a heavy cell orientation and a light cell orientation;
- and
- placing said load upon said one of said heavy load cell and said light load cell.
A weighing system comprising:
- a first scale comprising:
- a housing;
- a computer-based control processor within said scale housing;
- a heavy load cell supported on a first side of said scale housing, said heavy load cell being capable of weighing heavy loads and configured to provide a signal representative of a heavy weight measurement to said control processor;
- a light load cell supported on an opposite side of said scale housing with respect to said heavy load cell, said light load cell being capable of weighing light loads and configured to provide a signal representative of a light weight measurement to said control processor;
- and
- a wireless transceiver within said scale housing and responsive to said control processor;
- and
- a remote computer-based device configured with control logic to allow a user to wirelessly communicate with said first scale via said wireless transceiver, said remote computer-based system configured with control logic for allowing a user to control functions of said first scale control processor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.