Patent · US Expired

Apparatus for measuring the consistency or hardness of a material

US4159640A · kind A · utility

58Cited by
2References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 1, 1978
Grant dateJul 3, 1979
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 1, 1998

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N2203/0089
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An apparatus for measuring the consistency or hardness of a material, for example skin tissue on a living body, comprises a support to be applied against the material to be tested and a feeler movably carried by the support for displacement through a distance which will be proportional to the hardness or consistency being measured. To avoid the need for careful positioning of the device on the test material with a carefully constant bearing pressure, a control circuit is provided for recording the displacement of the feeler only when the bearing pressure of the support on the test material has a predetermined value. The reading of the displacement is held and is preferably digital. Application of the support successively to different points on the test material will enable a true comparison of the readings at the various points.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.