Patent ID: 6945130

Claim:
An electronic balance, comprising a housing ( 1 ) that can be put under an above-ambient pressure and a force-transmitting rod member ( 6 ) passing through a vertical wall of said housing, the force transmitting rod member having a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, the housing comprising at least one inlet for a protective gas and at least one exclusively horizontal passage through said vertical housing wall for the horizontal portion of the force-transmitting rod member ( 6 ), wherein the exclusively horizontal passage is configured as at least one opening ( 9 ) in said housing wall, the horizontal portion of the force-transmitting rod member ( 6 ) passes through the opening in a contact-free manner, and the horizontal passage also forms an outlet for the protective gas, the horizontal passage being configured to permit sufficient play for vertical movement of the force transmitting rod member ( 6 ) under the weight of a sample that is being weighed and to keep a flow rate of gas streaming through the passage sufficiently small.