Patent · US Expired

Method of measuring moisture content of dielectric materials

US4580233A · kind A · utility

42Cited by
21References
48Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 22, 1982
Grant dateApr 1, 1986
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 22, 2002

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N27/223
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The present invention is a method for measurement of moisture in dielectric materials. It is particularly useful for lumber. In the preferred version, at least two alternating current signals whose frequencies differ by a factor of at least 10 are capacitively coupled to the material. The coupling electrodes are in bridge circuits whose unbalance is measured at each frequency. The temperature of the dielectric material is also determined. Bridge unbalance signals are separated and rectified and the voltages, as well as a temperature analog voltage, are entered into a microprocessor programmed with a suitable algorithm to calculate a temperature corrected moisture value. The method overcomes significant inaccuracies in moisture readings due to temperature dependency.

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