US643708A - Scale. - Google Patents

Description

Patented Fen. 2o, |900.

iA. zmM'EnMAN',

SCALE.

(Application man@ 1o, 1899.)

(No Model.)

@y JM Jhfmyys,

TN: Norms PETERS so, PHoTaLITHov, wAsuma'roN, Dv c.

UNrTED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

ALBERT BLAKLEY ZIMMERMAN, OF TROY, KANSAS.

SCALE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,708, dated February 20, v1900.

Application filed June 10, 1899. Serial No. 720,124. (No model.)

To all whom. it may concern:

Beit known that I, ALBERT BLAKLEY ZIM- MEEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Troy, in the county of Doniphan and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Scale, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to scales, and more especially to that class thereof known as computing or price scales; and the object of the invention is provide a simple and efficient apparatus of this character capable of use in the ordinary manner and which will indicate automatically the price to be charged for articles upon the platform'or other loadreceiver and to also indicate the weight of such articles.

The device includes as one of its essential features and in combination with a platform or analogous appliance a graduated beam supported independently of the platform, lever mechanism for sustaining the platform, a movably-mounted lifting device for said graduated beam and which is connected with said lever mechanism for action, the operation being such that said lifting device will serve to elevate the graduated beam when a certain weight is placed upon the platform or other load carrier, and the lifting device serves as an index or pointer to be set or adj usted to meet certain conditions7 as will hereinafter appear.

With these ends in view the invention oonsists in the novel combination of elements and in the construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand the invention, I have illustratedthe preferred embodinient thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a computing-scale constructed in accordance with my invention and with a portion of the platform removed to indicate more clearly the disposition of the levers which sustain said platform. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the scale with the platform removed. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central section of the beam-lifting device. Fig. 4. is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of the bracket for supporting the graduated beam. Fig. 5 is a similar view of one of the duplex bearings cooperative with knife-edges on Ithe graduated beam. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1.

Like characters denotelike and corresponding parts in each of the several figures of the drawings.

The present improvements are shown applied to a platform or counter scale, although it will be obvious that they can be employed equally as well in connection with other kinds of apparatus of this, character, and the scale represented includes in its construction abase or bed 2, consisting of a chambered or hollow casting and which is adapted to inclose a plurality of cooperating levers which support the platform or load-receiver 3, upon which latter the goods are to be weighed. The levers, which are disposed within the base, are designated, respectively, by B, B', B2, and B3, and they are arranged in pairs, the respective members of the pairs being substantially the same in construction. The levers B and B cooperate, and each includes a longitudinal bar 4, having near the middle the inwardlyextending arms 5 and having at their opposite ends the oppositely-disposed arms 6, and these arms 6 are provided with the knife-edges 7, resting upon the well-known V-shaped bearings located within the base 2. Said arms 6 are provided adjacent the knife-edges 7 with knife-edges 8, adapted to 'receive V- shaped bearings secured to the under side of the platform 3. The inwardly-disposed arms 5 have knife-edges at their inner ends, connected by the loops familiar in this class of devices. The levers B2 and B3 are located above the levers B B', and each of them includes a longitudinal bar 9, having knife-edges'lO at their ends supported by V-shaped bearings located within the base, and said bars 9 are provided with the parallel inwardly-extendin g arms 12, having knife-edges connected, by means of loops, with the oppositely-disposed knifeedges upon the inwardly-disposed arms 5 on the scale-lever B', as indicated clearly in the drawings. The longitudinal bars 9, which, it will be observed, are flat and are in parallelism with the longitudinal bars 4, are provided with the oppositely and outwardly disposed arms 13, of U shape, and the branches IOO of which are equipped with the usual knifeedges, connected by the familiar loops with knife-edges upon the feet or transverse portions 14 of the vertical rods 15, and it willbe evident that from the construction described when the platform 3 is lowered by the weight of material resting thereon the rods 15 will be elevated, and these rods are connected for simultaneous action by the cross-bar 16, of substantially flat form, and which constitute acarrier for the graduated beam-lifter. This cross-bar is horizontal, and its ends tit within notches formed in the upper extremities of the vertically-reciprocative rods 15, the two parts being connected together by suitable fastening,` devices. The cross-bar supports the block 17, the latter having a transverse slot 18 to receive the bar, from which it will be evident that the block is adapted to travel from end to end of the bar. The block 17 carries a slide 19, vertically reciprocative in the way or socket 2O therein, and which has a point or beveled end, as at 2l, to engage between the notches or serrations of the graduated beam 22, hereinafter more particularly described. Normally the pointed end of the slide 19 is located below the graduated beam, and I provide means for elevating the same into its working position', so that it can raise the graduated beam when a certain weight is upon the platform. The slide 10, which directly lifts the graduated beam, has an elongated slot 22, which receives the cross-bar 1G, and itslower end is engaged by the eccentric 23, secured to the upperend of the curved lever 24, fulcru med or pivoted, as at 25, within an aperture formed on the under side of the block 17, and the construction is such that the manipulation of the lever will operate the slide 19 through the eccentric 23, so that said slide can lift the graduated beam at the proper point.

The graduated beam is designated by 30, and it is provided near one end with the weight 31, carried on a threaded spindle 32 and which is adjustable along said spindle for the purpose of compensating for any variations in the poise, and said graduated beam is provided at a point adjacent to the poiseweight 31 with knife-edges 33, arranged in pairs and located one pair above the other, the upper pair being adapted to cooperate with the V-shaped bearings 33,while the lower pair are adapted to cooperate with the inverted-V-shaped bearings 34, the respective bearings being` formed upon the arms or branches of the bifurcated upright 35,secured to the hollow post or pillar 36, a similar pillar being provided at the opposite side of the machine, andthe rods 15, to which reference was hereinbefore made, extend through these hollow posts. The lowerends or extremities of the rods 15 are provided with the usual cross-arms having terminal knife-edges and fitted in yokes adj acently supported,whereby is provided abase broad enough to maintain the frame in upright position.

This construction is well known in the art and is not shown because it is included in the lever mechanism,and by such means the rods 15 are held upright and against sagging movement, the posts or pillars 36 acting as shields for the rods above the bed 2. The beam 30 is graduated upon its upper and lower edges, the graduations representing units of currency and being arranged in correspondence or alinement. The graduations run from O to 30, although' it is evident that this can be materially modified, the scale illustrated beingr simply adopted for convenience in representing the nature'of the invention. The graduated beam eXtends through theloop 37 at the upper end of the arm 38, secured to the post 36, and it carries at its outer end the link 39, to which the weight-su pporting disk 40 is joined. Said graduated beam carries the slidable poise 41, having the pin 42, which is adapted to enter the longitudinal groove or channel 43 in one face of the graduated beam, thereby to hold the poise-weight in place, as it will be seen that the weight simply straddles the beam. The slidable poise 41 is provided with the usual pointer adapted to serve the usual function.

In Fig. 1 the pointed or index end of the slide 19 is at a point below and opposite the notch upon the under side of the graduated. beam, marked 10, and said slide 19 is supposed to be in its uppermost position, and the pointer of the slidable poise 41 is in the notch 107 upon the upper graduated side of said beam 30, so that when articles are placed upon the platform the latter will be lowered, and thereby, through the intermediate connections, elevating the cross-bar 16, and consequently the slide 19, so that the latter can lift the graduated beam to an intermediate position, thereby indicating a true poise. Therefore in view of this disposition of the parts the graduations will indicate that ten cents worth of an article at ten cents per pound had been placed upon the platform for the purpose of elevating the graduated beam in the manner just indicated, cents, of course, being the standard of currency adopted and it being assumed that the article sells forten cents a pound. Should it be desired to weigh two pounds of the article, the poise 41 would be moved opposite the 20 mark upon the graduated beam, so that it will be necessary to place two pounds of weight upon the platform before the graduated beam can be lifted. If the article sells for fifteen cents, the point 21 will be placed opposite the 15 mark and the poise 41 will be correspondingly shifted if it is desired to weigh out a pound, or if the article sells, say, for ten cents a pound the position of the poise 41 either to the left or ri'ght of the 10 mark will indicate the cost of the article upon the platform.

It will be remembered that the graduated beam 30 is provided with two pairs of knifeedges, located, respectively, in superposed planes, and the upper pair come into play IOO IIO

when the poise 4l is to the left of the liftingslide 19. Otherwise the lower pair is in action.

From the preceding description it will be apparent that the de vice is simple in operation and can be constructed at a low cost and that it automatically indicates plainly to a prospective purchaser the weight and the price of an article or goods supported upon the platform.

The disk can be provided with one or more weights when it becomes necessary to weigh articles heavier than the graduations upon the beam 30 will permit.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without depart-ing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim isl. In a scale, the combination with a platform, of lever mechanism for operatively sustaining the said platform, hollow posts eX- tending vertically above the lever mechanism and clear of the platform, rods having their lower extremities operatively connected to the lever mechanism and freely movable through the said posts, a transversely-extending cross-bar having its opposite ends rigidly secured to the upper extremities of the said rods above the post-s, the said rods being clear of attached devices between the said crossbar and their connection with the lever mechanism, agraduated beam supported above one end and independently of the said platform and the lever mechanism by the said posts and in a plane parallel with the cross-bar and directly over the latter, and a block movably mounted on the said cross-bar and having a vertically-adjustable slide therein adapted to be operated from beneath the same to bear against the under edge of the graduated beam, said slide having a slot therein longer than the width of the cross-bar.

2. In a scale, the combination with a platform, of lever mechanism for operatively sustaining the platform, a graduated beam located above and supported independently of the platform and lever mechanism, a crossbar having an equal rise-and-fall movement from end to end and its opposite extremities rigidly connected to the devices supporting the same, the said cross-bar being situated directly under the graduated beam and the latter having its lower edge provided with regularly-formed serrations, a block slidingly mounted on the said cross-bar directly under the lower edge of the graduated beam, a slide vertically adjustable in the block and having an upper reduced edge to fit in the said serrations of the beam and also provided with a slot longer than the width of the cross-bar, and an eccentrically-mounted device on the block directly below the slide for raising and lowering the latter.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT BLAKLEY ZIMMERMAN.

Witnesses:

S. P. ZIMMERMAN, S. H. BLAKELY.

Images