Weigh Scale Applications for the MCP3551

In the case of Figure 1, the bridge is said to be fully active. In some cases, only half of the bridge may be active (half active). For some sensors, only a single element of the bridge may change in response to the stimulus. This application note will focus specifically on load cells, a type of strain gauge that is typically used for measuring weight. Even more specifically, the focus will be on fully active, temperature compensated load cells whose change in differential output voltage with a rated load is 2 mV to 4 mV per volt of excitation (the excitation voltage being the difference between the +Input and the –Input terminals of the load cell).