A method and system can measure the weight of a bulk material within a container by applying excitation in the form of vibrational energy and interpreting the container's response to the vibration.

A sensing system contains a vibration device attached to a stem of an agricultural crop for applying vibration to the agricultural crop, at least one sensor attached to the stem of the agricultural crop for sensing vibration of the agricultural crop caused by the vibration applied to the agricultural product from the vibration device to transmit vibration information relate to the vibration of the agricultural crop and a computing device for identifying one local maximum value among a plurality of local maximum values in a frequency spectrum obtained from the vibration information received from the at least one sensor as a resonance frequency of the vibration of the agricultural crop to determine a growth degree of a fruit of the agricultural crop based on the identified resonance frequency.

The invention relates to a weighing device, e.g. for kitchens. It has a support plate (1) for receiving the object to be measured and a controller (16). Furthermore, an excitation element (12) for generating mechanical vibrations in the support plate (1) and a measuring element (14) for measuring the mechanical vibrations of the support plate (1) are provided. The excitation element (12) and the measuring element (14) are used to determine one or more resonance frequencies and/or other spectral characteristics of the support plate (1), and this is used, for example, to determine the mass of the object.

A mechanical resonator device. The resonator device includes a resonator element made of an elastic material under tensile stress and adapted for sustaining at least one oscillation mode; and a clamping structure supporting the resonator element. The clamping structure has a phononic density of states exhibiting a bandgap or quasi-bandgap such that elastic waves of at least one polarisation and/or frequency are not allowed to propagate through the clamping structure. The resonator element and the clamping structure are configured to match with a soft-clamping condition that elastic waves of polarisation and/or frequency corresponding to the at least one oscillation mode of the resonator penetrate evanescently into the clamping structure in a manner such as to minimize bending throughout the entire resonator device. Thereby, bending related loss may be minimized and the Q-factor of the mechanical resonator may be maximized.

The invention relates to a method for calculating the weight of a load moving on scales (1). According to the method, a load signal of the scales is determined over a period of time using the speed of the load, and several partial load signals (TL.sub.1, TL.sub.2) are used, the total thereof providing the load signal, a first partial load signal (TL.sub.1) displaying a maximum value as long as the load is fully on the weighing section of the scales (1), and a second partial load signal (TL.sub.2) displaying a minimum value as long as the load is completely removed from the weighing section of the scales (1), and the speed of the movement of the load is determined from said partial load signals (TL.sub.1 and TL.sub.2). The invention also relates to scales for carrying out said method, comprising two weighing units (10, 11) with flexible deformation elements on which deformation sensors (7, 15), which generate the partial load signals (TL.sub.1,TL.sub.2), are arranged.

The invention relates to a method for calculating the weight of a load moving on scales (1). According to the method, a load signal of the scales is determined over a period of time using the speed of the load, and several partial load signals (TL.sub.1, TL.sub.2) are used, the total thereof providing the load signal, a first partial load signal (TL.sub.1) displaying a maximum value as long as the load is fully on the weighing section of the scales (1), and a second partial load signal (TL.sub.2) displaying a minimum value as long as the load is completely removed from the weighing section of the scales (1), and the speed of the movement of the load is determined from said partial load signals (TL.sub.1 and TL.sub.2). The invention also relates to scales for carrying out said method, comprising two weighing units (10, 11) with flexible deformation elements on which deformation sensors (7, 15), which generate the partial load signals (TL.sub.1,TL.sub.2), are arranged.

A method for the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) based on an interfacial process of antigen-antibody molecular recognition, specifically between anti-Ro52 and Ro52 protein, in a piezoelectric resonator, for application in the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases such as SLE.

An apparatus and method is provided for coating a surface of a material with a film of porous coordination polymer. A first substrate having a first surface to be coated is positioned in a processing chamber such that the first surface is placed in a substantially opposing relationship to a second surface. In some embodiments, the second surface is provided by a wall of the processing chamber, and in other embodiments the second surface is provided by a second substrate to be coated. The first substrate is held such that a gap exists between the first and second surfaces, and the gap is filled with at least one reaction mixture comprising reagents sufficient to form the crystalline film on at least the first surface. A thin gap (e.g., having a thickness less than 2 mm) between the first and second surfaces is effective for producing a high quality film having a thickness less than 100 μm. Confining the volume of the reaction mixture to a thin layer adjacent the substrate surface significantly reduces problems with sedimentation and concentration control. In some embodiments, the size, shape, or average thickness of the gap is adjusted during formation of the film in response to feedback from at least one film growth monitor.

A sensor includes a body member, a volume change body, and a detection member. The body member has a flat plate-like shape, a first end in a first direction being supported, and a storage space opening at at least one of both end faces in a thickness direction. The volume change body, whose volume changes depending on an amount of a target, is supported by the body member so that at least a part of the volume change body is stored in the storage space. The detection member is in contact with a second end in the first direction of the body member, and detects stress caused by the change in the volume of the volume change body.

A system for monitoring fruit growth including: a vibration exciter that imparts predetermined vibration to a stem or a branch between a fruit and a stalk growing on a plant; a vibration sensor that detects vibration of the stem or the branch caused by the vibration imparted by the vibration exciter; and a detector that detects a weight or weight change of the fruit based on a frequency of the vibration detected by the vibration sensor.