Electronic moisture tester
AssigneeSUNSWEET GROWERS, INC., a corporation of the state of California
InventorsBrian Pierce, Orion Davies, Michael Gildemeister
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The moisture content of a foodstuff or other solid matter is determined by reducing the matter to a paste, packing the paste into a vessel equipped with multiple pairs of plate electrodes and one or more temperature sensors, applying an AC voltage across each pair of electrodes, and measuring the impedance of the paste from each pair of electrodes. The multiple impedance measurements are averaged or otherwise processed to obtain a value that is representative of the paste, and that value and the temperature are processed against calibration data to achieve a value of the moisture content of the paste.
Claims25
A process for determining moisture content in solid matter, said process comprising:
- (a) reducing said solid matter to a paste;
- (b) placing said paste in an elongated vessel having a longitudinal axis, said vessel containing pairs of electrodes positioned at a plurality of locations along said axis;
- (c) imposing an alternating voltage at a selected frequency across each of said pairs of electrodes and through said paste, determining an electrical impedance value across each of said pairs arising from said alternating voltage, and generating a signal representative of each of said values;
- (d) detecting the temperature of said paste in said tube;
- and
- (e) compiling test data from said signals and said temperature, and comparing said test data so compiled to calibration values correlating said test data with moisture levels, thereby determining said moisture content of said solid matter.
The process of claim 3 wherein the electrodes of any single pair are separated by a gap, and the gaps of all said pairs are of equal width.
Apparatus for determining moisture content in solid matter, said apparatus comprising:
- an elongated vessel having a longitudinal axis and containing pairs of electrodes positioned at a plurality of locations along said axis;
- means for imposing an alternating voltage across each of said pairs of electrodes and for detecting electrical impedance across each of said pairs;
- and
- means for detecting the temperature of the interior of said vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.