Patent ID: 6340892
Filing Date: 2002-01-22
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A moisture meter comprising:a hand-held housing supporting a moisture sensor for contact with a material being surveyed, an output interface, and a controller including means for determining moisture content data according to signals from a moisture sensor drive circuit and for outputting said data to an output interface, the meter including a user input interface, a non-volatile memory, and means in the controller for storing a library of parameter values of a plurality of materials, said values each including a material specific gravity value, the controller including means for selecting stored material parameter values from said library in response to user inputs, the controller including means for performing data processing with said selected parameter values to determine a moisture content value of a material in contact with the moisture sensor, said data processing means including means for compensating signals received from the moisture sensor drive circuit according to said specific gravity of said material, the controller including means for storing a plurality of data records in said non-volatile memory, each said record including data indicating a material type, date of a reading, and said moisture content value, the meter includes an interface for communicating with a host computer, and the controller including means for receiving an updated library of material values from a host computer via said interface and for storing said library in said non-volatile memory, and means for uploading said stored data records to a host computer via said interface.