Digital weighing scale with selectable computational parameters

Claim 1

In a scale having a digital display for producing a visual indication which is a function of the weight of an object placed on the scale, the scale including digital signal generating means for producing digital output signals proportional to the weight on the scale and digital computation means for computing the digital numbers to be displayed from the digital output signals of the digital signal generating means in accordance with a computational algorithm determined in part by at least one selected variable digital parameter, the improvement comprising: first means for causing the digital display to automatically display a plurality of indications one at a time in succession, each indication being displayed by the digital display for a predetermined limited time interval and each indication being representative of a respective one of a plurality of alternative values for the variable digital parameter; a single switch mounted on the exterior of the scale where the switch is immediately accessible to and operable by the person who ordinarily uses the scale to weigh objects, the switch having only a single operated position and being operable to the operated position by said person while said person is observing the digital display, the switch producing an output signal when operated by said person to the operated position concurrently with observation by said person of the display by the digital display of the indication representative of the alternative value desired by said person; and second means responsive to the first means and to the output signal of the switch for storing as the selected variable digital parameter the alternative value represented by the indication being displayed by the digital display concurrently with the occurrence of the output signal of the switch.