Method for fast weighing

Claim 1

A method for fast weighing using an electronic scale, comprising the following steps: providing an electrical signal representative of the weight of an object placed upon the scale; periodically sampling said electrical signal to obtain a plurality of instantaneous analog representations of the weight of said object; digitizing said instantaneous analog representations to provide a plurality of digital values representative of the weight of said object; storing said digital values; comparing each current digital value with the immediately preceding value to determine whether said values are similar, as defined by differing by less than a predetermined amount; comparing each compared current digital value which is similar to its previous value with a zero scale balance value to determine whether said compared current value is similar to said zero scale balance value as defined by differing by less than a predetermined count; maintaining a count of the number of values sampled; providing the most recent digital value which is not similar to a zero scale balance value as the desired weight when the weight is within a first range; and providing the most recent digital value as the desired weight following a first number of similar samplings when the weight is within a second range.

Claim 2

A method for fast weighing using an electronic scale, comprising the following steps: providing an electrical signal representative of the weight of an object placed upon the scale; periodically sampling said electrical signal to obtain a plurality of instantaneous analog representations of the weight of said object; digitizing said instantaneous analog representations to provide a plurality of digital values representative of the weight of said object; storing said digital values; comparing each current digital value with the immediately preceding value to determine whether said values are similar, as defined by differing by less than a predetermined amount; comparing each compared current digital value which is similar to its previous value with a zero scale balance value to determine whether said compared current value is similar to said zero scale balance value as defined by differing by less than a predetermined count; maintaining a count of the number of values sampled; providing the most recent digital value which is not similar to a zero scale balance value as the desired weight when the weight is within a first range; and providing the most recent digital value as the desired weight following a first number of similar samplings when the weight is within a second range.

Claim 15

A method for fast weighing using an electronic scale, comprising the following steps: providing an electrical signal representative of the weight on the scale; periodically sampling said electrical signal to obtain a plurality of instantaneous analog representations of the weight on the scale; digitizing said instantaneous analog representations to provide a plurality of digital values representative of the weight on the scale; storing said digital values; comparing each current digital value with the immediately preceding value to determine whether said values are similar, as defined by differing by less than a predetermined amount; comparing each compared current digital value which is similar to its previous value with a stored zero scale balance value to determine whether said compared current value is similar to said zero scale balance value as defined by differing by less than a predetermined amount; maintaining a count of the number of values sampled; averaging the most recent digital value with a previous zero scale balance value; and providing the result of said averaging as a zero scale balance following a predetermined number of similar samplings when the current digital value is similar to said previous zero scale balance value.

Claim 16

A method for fast weighing using an electronic scale, comprising the following steps: providing an electrical signal representative of the weight on the scale; periodically sampling said electrical signal to obtain a plurality of instantaneous analog representations of the weight on the scale; digitizing said instantaneous analog representations to provide a plurality of digital values representative of the weight on the scale; storing said digital values; comparing each current digital value with the immediately preceding value to determine whether said values are similar, as defined by differing by less than a predetermined amount; comparing each compared current digital value which is similar to its previous value with a stored zero scale balance value to determine whether said compared current value is similar to said zero scale balance value as defined by differing by less than a predetermined amount; maintaining a count of the number of values sampled; averaging the most recent digital value with a previous zero scale balance value; and providing the result of said averaging as a zero scale balance following a predetermined number of similar samplings when the current digital value is similar to said previous zero scale balance value.