A gravimetric measuring system (10), includes a balance (12) with a weighing chamber (22) surrounded by a weighing chamber wall (23, 24, 26, 28); an electromechanical weighing system (181); an electronic control apparatus (36) for controlling the system operation according to algorithms stored in a memory (363) thereof; and a plurality of functional modules (14, 16) configured to be inserted into module receptacles (283) arranged on the weighing chamber wall (28). Each module receptacle (283) has a device-side identification interface component (30a); and each functional module has a corresponding module-side identification interface component (30b). The control apparatus (36) identifies each functional module (14, 16) inserted into a module receptacle (283), through interaction between the respective device-side and module-side identification interface components (30a, 30b) and selects one of a plurality of operating routines according to algorithms stored in the memory.

A windshield for a balance which has a door that can be automatically opened and closed or half opened and half closed is provided. The windshield includes doors to which air cylinders are joined as driving means, sensors for monitoring movements of the doors, pressure sensors configured to monitor a pressure of air to be supplied to the air cylinders of the driving means, and a control unit configured to stop an air supply to the air cylinders when a pressure of air monitored by the pressure sensor exceeds a predetermined value. Stoppers are disposed on movement paths of the doors to block movement, and when air pressure inside the air cylinder increases to the predetermined value due to contact with the stopper, the door stops. The door can be freely fully opened and half-opened according to the position of the stopper.

A windshield for an electronic balance is provided which includes air cylinders incorporated inside as driving mechanisms, doors supported by a hanging manner by guide holes at least one end portion of which is open, and joint members interposed between the air cylinders and the doors. The joint members are also supported in a hanging manner in the guide holes, and upper portions of the joint members are joined to the air cylinders incorporated inside. The doors can be automatically opened and closed, and can be easily joined to and released from the driving mechanisms, and easily detached from the windshield by a simple structure.

A guideway receives and guides a carriage and includes a guideway body having a first and second longitudinal end and a longitudinally extending clear channel which is bordered by a wall of the guideway body and opens at the first longitudinal end. A stop member terminates the guideway at the first longitudinal end and includes a crossbar and two legs extending therefrom. The crossbar extends transverse to a longitudinal direction of the clear channel and the legs extend transverse to the longitudinal direction and transverse to the crossbar. The legs have a clearance therebetween. The stop member forms a frame enclosing a window, and has an opening on an edge of the window transversely opposite the crossbar, thereby defining an open side of the stop member. The stop member is displaceable on the guideway body perpendicular to the crossbar and transversely relative to the guideway body, between at least a first transverse position where the crossbar at least partially overlaps with the clear channel, and a second transverse position where the window of the stop member at least partially overlaps with the clear channel.

A draft shield for a balance includes a housing having a top side, a bottom side, and a back side. A heat transmission member of the draft shield includes at least a first plate-shaped section extending along and adjacent to the bottom side of the housing. A heat dissipator of the draft shield is arranged outside the housing. The draft shield further includes a means for driving a heat flux from a member having a relatively lower temperature to a member having a relatively higher temperature in functional relationship with the heat transmission member and the heat dissipator, such as a thermoelectric module, and in particular, such as a Peltier module.

An electronic balance includes a balance unit having a measuring pan surrounded by a space enclosed within a windshield having a door, and a rear-section casing formed by plates and containing a motor unit which includes a motor and a driving element connected with the rotation shaft of the motor. When the motor unit is fixed within the rear-section casing, the driving element protrudes through a driving-element hole in one of the plates to the outside of the rear-section casing and engages with a driven element fixed to the door so that the door can be opened and closed by the motor. When the motor must be replaced, the motor unit including the motor and the driving element in an integrated form can be entirely and easily replaced with a new motor unit.

A gravimetric measuring system (10) includes a balance (12) with a weighing chamber (22) surrounded by a plurality of weighing chamber walls (23, 24, 26, 28); an electromechanical weighing system (181) enclosed by an adjoining weighing system chamber (18); and an electronic control apparatus (36) for controlling the system operation according to algorithms stored in a memory (363) of the control apparatus. A plurality of functional modules (14, 16) that generate heat during operation are insertable into module receptacles (283) arranged on at least one weighing chamber wall (28). A plurality of interacting measures, such as providing the module receptacles with device-side identification and thermal interface components and the functional modules with module-side identification and thermal interface components that interact, lead to a controllable measuring system that is flexibly equipped and calibratable.

[Object] To provide an electronic balance configured to uses a non-contact sensor to perform a predetermined operation, in which a greater number of operations than the number of non-contact sensors can be performed. [Means for solving problem] An electronic balance (1) includes: a non-contact sensor (31; 32) configured to detect an object; a state identifier (306) configured to identify a time pattern of a detection signal of the non-contact sensor (31; 32) as one of a plurality of previously defined time patterns; and an operation controller (30; 303; 304; 305) configured to control an operation of a predetermined section of the electronic balance (1) related to the time pattern identified by the state identifier.

A balance (30) is a single unit with a weighing pan (21) enclosed in a weighing compartment (22). A housing (23) adjoins the weighing compartment. The balance housing contains a weighing cell compartment (24) enclosing a weighing cell, an electronics compartment (25) containing electrical and electronic circuit elements, a thermoelectric heat pump module (27) and a heat flow controller (28). The balance is equipped to determine a net heat flow (P.sub.net) inside the housing in the direction from the weighing cell compartment to the electronics compartment. The heat flow controller uses the net heat flow as a control input to regulate the the thermoelectric heat pump module, arranged inside the housing. The control input is used to generate an active heat flow (P.sub.A) with magnitude and direction for holding the net heat flow at a level equal to the rate of heat dissipation produced inside the weighing cell compartment.

As a weighing device which can not only make water and dust less likely to reach the sensor unit, but also simply discharge water having reached that position if any, and which further can improve the maintenance workability of water-washing of the sensor unit, an electronic balance includes a weighing pan, a load cell that measures a load of a measuring object placed on the weighing pan, and a scale main body case that supports the load cell. The load cell is disposed outside and over the scale main body case, a cylindrical transparent cover that covers the whole side face of the load cell is integrally provided for the weighing pan, and the lower end of the transparent cover is disposed with a clearance over an upper face of the scale main body case.