Intelligent signal processing for ratiometric data acquisition: a low cost solution for load cells

This paper describes a data acquisition solution using a single chip risc type mictocontroller with very few other active and passive components around. The need for thermally stable circuits and components is minimized though the use of the same amplification chain for both the signal and reference, together with software calibartion. The analog to digital conversion is done using the single ramp approach controlled by the microcontroller which does all the digital processing required as well as the serial communicationwith the external world. The paper also describes an example of software calibration of a multi-loadcell weighridge using one single processing module per sensor