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US5152401A
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Agricultural commodity condition measurement
Assignee: United States Department of Agriculture
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Filing: 1989-10-13
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Granted: 1992-10-06
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Expires: 2009-10-13
Abstract
Abstract The instant invention pertains to ascertaining the condition (i.e. texture, maturity and extent of damage (if any)) of an agricultural commodity by: (a) inputting band-limited vibrations (i.e. limited to a specific frequency band); (b) sensing vibrational characteristics (e.g. energy, resonance, absorption frequency characteristics) resulting from the input vibrations, and; (c) analyzing the vibrational characteristics.
Inventors
- 👤 Henry A. Affeldt, Jr.
- 👤 Judith A. Abbott
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 12:52
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01N; G01N29/00; G01N29/44; G01N29/4445; G01N29/04; G01N29/06; G01N29/0609; G01N29/12; G01N29/34; G01N29/348; G01N29/4409; G01N29/4427; G01N3/00; G01N3/40; G01N3/405; G01N33/00; G01N33/02; G01N33/025; G01N2291/00; G01N2291/02; G01N2291/024; G01N2291/02466; G01N2291/028; G01N2291/02827; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S209/00; Y10S209/931
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
82 words
A process for measuring the condition of an agricultural commodity comprising: vibrating an agricultural commodity with input vibrations which comprise a band-limited impulse generating a range of simultaneous, regulated input frequencies of from about 1 to about 3,000 Hz, sensing vibrational characteristics of vibrations of said agricultural commodity resulting from said input vibrations, and analyzing vibrational energy of said vibrations of said agricultural commodity at single frequencies or within a frequency band in order to ascertain the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
82 words
A process for measuring the condition of an agricultural commodity comprising: vibrating an agricultural commodity with input vibrations which comprise a band-limited impulse generating a range of simultaneous, regulated input frequencies of from about 1 to about 3,000 Hz, sensing vibrational characteristics of vibrations of said agricultural commodity resulting from said input vibrations, and analyzing vibrational energy of said vibrations of said agricultural commodity at single frequencies or within a frequency band in order to ascertain the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
The process of claim 1 wherein said step of sensing includes sensing resonance and absorption frequency characteristics of said agricultural commodity and, wherein said step of analyzing includes incorporating the detected resonance and absorption frequency characteristics into said ascertaining of the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
73 words
A process for measuring the condition of an agricultural commodity comprising: vibrating an agricultural commodity with input vibrations which comprise a band-limited impulse generating a range of simultaneous, regulated input frequencies of from about 1 to about 3,000 Hz, sensing resonance and absorption frequency characteristics of said agricultural commodity resulting from said input vibrations, and analyzing the sensed resonance and absorption frequency characteristics in order to ascertain the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
73 words
A process for measuring the condition of an agricultural commodity comprising: vibrating an agricultural commodity with input vibrations which comprise a band-limited impulse generating a range of simultaneous, regulated input frequencies of from about 1 to about 3,000 Hz, sensing resonance and absorption frequency characteristics of said agricultural commodity resulting from said input vibrations, and analyzing the sensed resonance and absorption frequency characteristics in order to ascertain the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
51 words
The process of either claim 1, 2 or 3 further including: measuring at least one size characteristics of the agricultural commodity selected from the group consisting of mass, diameter and volume; and wherein said step of analyzing includes incorporating said measurement into said ascertaining of the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
47 words
The process of either claim 1, 2 or 3 further including: measuring at least one of: shape, surface features, color and surface abnormalities of said agricultural commodity; and wherein said step of analyzing includes incorporating said measurement into said ascertaining of the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
48 words
The process of either claim 1, 2 or 3 further including, conducting said steps of vibrating, sensing and analyzing for each of a plurality of agricultural commodities which are of a single type of agricultural commodity, and sorting said plurality of agricultural commodities according to said ascertained condition.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
48 words
The process of either claim 1, 2 or 3 further including the step of transmitting said input vibrations to said agricultural commodity through a flexible bladder containing therein a material selected from the group consisting of: a fine granular material, an incompressible fluid, a gel, or mixtures thereof.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
The process of either claim 1, 2 or 3 further including the step of transmitting said input vibrations through a material selected from the group consisting of: rubber, sponge, plastic, sand, glass, salt or clay.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
The process of either claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said step of vibrating includes striking said agricultural commodity with impact means.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
98 words
An apparatus for measuring the condition of an agricultural commodity comprising: means for vibrating an agricultural commodity with input vibrations which comprise a band-limited impulse generating a range of simultaneous, regulated input frequencies of from about 1 to about 3,000 Hz, operably associated means for sensing vibrational characteristics of vibrations of said agricultural commodity resulting from said input vibrations, and; analyzing means, operably associated with said means for sensing, for analyzing vibrational energy of said vibrations of said agricultural commodity at single frequencies or within a frequency band in order to ascertain the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
98 words
An apparatus for measuring the condition of an agricultural commodity comprising: means for vibrating an agricultural commodity with input vibrations which comprise a band-limited impulse generating a range of simultaneous, regulated input frequencies of from about 1 to about 3,000 Hz, operably associated means for sensing vibrational characteristics of vibrations of said agricultural commodity resulting from said input vibrations, and; analyzing means, operably associated with said means for sensing, for analyzing vibrational energy of said vibrations of said agricultural commodity at single frequencies or within a frequency band in order to ascertain the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said means for sensing senses resonance and absorption frequency characteristics of said agricultural commodity, and wherein said analyzing means functions to incorporate the sensed resonance and absorption frequency characteristics into said ascertaining of the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
89 words
An apparatus for measuring the condition of an agricultural commodity comprising: means for vibrating an agricultural commodity with input vibrations which comprise a band-limited impulse generating a range of simultaneous, regulated input frequencies of from about 1 to about 3,000 Hz, operably associated means for sensing resonance and absorption frequency characteristics of said agricultural commodity resulting from said input vibrations, and; analyzing means, operably associated with said means for sensing, for analyzing the sensed resonance and absorption frequency characteristics in order to ascertain the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
89 words
An apparatus for measuring the condition of an agricultural commodity comprising: means for vibrating an agricultural commodity with input vibrations which comprise a band-limited impulse generating a range of simultaneous, regulated input frequencies of from about 1 to about 3,000 Hz, operably associated means for sensing resonance and absorption frequency characteristics of said agricultural commodity resulting from said input vibrations, and; analyzing means, operably associated with said means for sensing, for analyzing the sensed resonance and absorption frequency characteristics in order to ascertain the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
81 words
The apparatus of either claim 10, 11 or 12 further including: size measuring means for measuring at least one size characteristic of the agricultural commodity selected from the group consisting of mass, diameter and volume, means for communicating the measurement of at least one size characteristic from said size measuring means to said analyzing means, and wherein said analyzing means functions to incorporate the measurement of at least one size characteristic into said ascertaining of the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
69 words
The apparatus of either claim 10, 11 or 12 further including: measuring means for measuring at least one of: shape, surface features, color and surface abnormalities; of said agricultural commodity, means for communicating said at least one measurement from said measuring means to said analyzing means, and wherein said analyzing means functions to incorporate said at least one measurement into said ascertaining of the condition of said agricultural commodity.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus of either claim 10, 11, or 12 further including: means for sorting agricultural commodities of a single type of agricultural commodity according to condition ascertained by said analyzing means, and means for communicating said ascertained condition from said analyzing means to said means for sorting.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus of either claim 10, 11 or 12 further including means for retaining said agricultural commodity and transmitting said input vibrations from said means for vibrating to said agricultural commodity.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said means for retaining said agricultural commodity and transmitting said input vibrations includes a flexible bladder containing therein a material selected from the group consisting of: a fine granular material, an incompressible fluid, a gel, or mixtures thereof.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said means for retaining said agricultural commodity is composed of at least one of: rubber, sponge, plastic, sand, glass, salt or clay.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said means for retaining said agricultural commodity includes means for producing a vacuum.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of either claim 10, 11 or 12 wherein said means for vibrating includes, impact means, and means for impacting said agricultural commodity with said impact means.
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