Abstract:
A weighing apparatus, the weighing apparatus comprising a weighing portion including means for at least temporarily retaining an item to be weighed thereon, and a measurement portion in communication with the weighing portion, wherein the measurement portion comprises at least two indicators for indicating the weight of the item attached to the weighing apparatus, each of the indicators for indicating the weight of the item in different conditions.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of PCT International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2009/000194, filed Feb. 20, 2009, and Australian Patent Application No. 2008200971, filed Feb. 29, 2008, in the Australian Patent Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a weighing apparatus. In particular, the present invention related to a portable weighing apparatus for weighing items, such as gas bottles or the like. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Gas bottles are used for a large variety of applications in domestic, commercial and industrial settings. Regardless of the application in which bottled gas is being used, it is advantageous to know the amount of gas remaining in a gas bottle so that a user does not, in the middle of an activity, have to change gas bottles or, worse, run out of gas completely. 
         [0006]    The most simple method of measuring the amount of gas remaining in a gas bottle is to shake the bottle and estimate the quantity remaining. However, this technique is often extremely inaccurate. 
         [0007]    Some attempts have been made to develop devices that measure, with greater accuracy, the quantity of gas in a gas bottle. These devices include a plastic strip adhered to the outer surface of a gas bottle. The level of the gas in the bottle may be determined by pouring boiling water over the strip, causing the strip to change colour. 
         [0008]    It is possible to determine the quantity of gas in a gas bottle by weighing the bottle on a set of scales. However, for this technique to work with any accuracy it is necessary to know the weight of the bottle when empty (the tare weight normally marked on the bottle) and then subtract this from the combined weight of the bottle and gas, making this technique slow and cumbersome. 
         [0009]    A more sophisticated solution to this problem was disclosed in Australian Innovation Patent No. 2004100314. In this patent, a device was disclosed that could be set to automatically deduct the tare weight of the bottle from the combined weight of the gas and the bottle when a gas bottle was attached to it. However, this device operates as a set of scales, meaning that the weight must be read directly from the scale before the gas bottle is removed, or else the measurement will be lost. 
         [0010]    Thus, there would be an advantage if it were possible to provide a weighing apparatus that could measure the quantity of gas in a gas bottle and at least temporarily retain that measurement even when the gas bottle has been removed from the weighing apparatus. 
         [0011]    It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country. 
         [0012]    Throughout this specification, the term “comprising” and its grammatical equivalents shall be taken to have an inclusive meaning unless the context of use indicates otherwise. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a weighting apparatus which may overcome at least some of the abovementioned disadvantages, or provide a useful or commercial choice. 
         [0014]    In one aspect, the invention broadly resides in a weighing apparatus, the weighing apparatus comprising a weighing portion including means for at least temporarily retaining an item to be weighed thereon, and a measurement portion in communication with the weighing portion, wherein the measurement portion comprises at least two indicators for indicating the weight of the item attached to the weighing apparatus, each of the indicators for indicating the weight of the item in different conditions. 
         [0015]    The apparatus of the present invention is particularly directed to weighing of gas bottles. The apparatus of the invention is also typically portable, preferably sized to enable the apparatus to be easily held in one hand. 
         [0016]    The weighing portion may be of any suitable form to allow the at least temporary retention of an item thereon. Preferably, the item is at least temporarily retained on the weighing portion in such a way that it will not fall off, slide off, or otherwise disengage from the weighing portion during the weighing of the item. To achieve this, the weighing portion may include one or more retention means adapted to retain the item thereon during weighing. The one or more retention means may be of any suitable form, such as, but not limited to, one or more, hooks, slots, recessed, grooves, channels, projections, flanges, lands, shoulders or the like. Preferably, at least a portion of an item to be weighed engages with the one or more retention means in such a way that the item is at least temporarily retained thereon. 
         [0017]    The measurement portion may be of any suitable form to allow for the measurement of the weight of the item temporarily retained on the weighing portion. In some embodiments of the invention, the measurement portion may comprise a body with at least two and typically three indicators attached thereto for indicating the weight of the item being weighed. 
         [0018]    In some embodiments of the invention, one or mere of the indicators may be set manually prior to weighing an item, such as to set, for instance, an empty (tare) weight or a full weight of the item (bottle, bucket, container etc). Alternatively, one or more of the indicators may be movable relative to the body of the measurement portion, wherein the movement of the one or more indicators relative to the body of the measurement portion may be actuated by placing an item to be weighed on the weighing portion. In a most preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one of the indicators may be set manually prior to weighing an item, and at least one of the indicators may be movable relative to the body of the measurement portion. Alternatively, one or more of the indicators may be reset automatically. 
         [0019]    The indicators may be of any suitable form, such as, but not limited to, collars, needles, pointers, rings, or the like, or any combination thereof. 
         [0020]    In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the measurement portion comprises three indicators. For instance, in this embodiment of the invention, when the item to be weighed is a gas bottle, one indicator may indicate the weight of the gas bottle when full of gas (the “full” indicator), a further indicator may indicate weight of the gas bottle when empty (the “empty” indicator), and the third indicator may indicate the present weight of the gas bottle (the “weight” indicator). In this way, a user may quickly and easily see how much gas remains in the bottle. In this embodiment of the invention, it is preferred that the weight indicator is located intermediate the full and empty indicators. 
         [0021]    In particular, the weight indicator is typically moveable when the weighing portion bears a load. The empty indicator may be moved either before or after the item is first weighed and the full indicator of the apparatus will typically be moved when the item is first weighed. Importantly, the relative position of the weight indicator to the full and empty indicators can give an accurate weight indication, more so than if the weight indicator simply identifies the total weight of the item, and not the weight of the material and the weight of the container, separately as well as their combined weight. 
         [0022]    The measurement portion may further comprise a series of indicia indicating a property of the item being weighed. For instance, the series of indicia may indicate weight, volume, density, or any other property of the item. n some embodiments of the invention, the series of indicia may indicate more than one property of the item. 
         [0023]    The series of indicia may be printed, engraved or the like onto the surface of the measurement portion, or the measurement portion may be provided with measurement means (such as a printed or stamped panel, electronic screen or the like) mounted thereon. 
         [0024]    As previously mentioned, the weighing portion and the measurement portion are in communication with one another. Thus, when an item is retained on the weighing portion, at least one of the indicators of the measurement portion may be actuated, thereby recording the weight (or some other property as desired) of the item. 
         [0025]    The actuation of at least one of the indicators may be achieved using any suitable means. Typically however, the weighing portion is coaxial and concentrically located within the measurement portion. Normally, the indicators will be provided concentrically outside the measurement portion with measuring indicia provided on the measurement portion. Typically, the weighing portion will be provided with a means for engaging at least one of the indicators. 
         [0026]    According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the measuring portion will be provided with at least one elongate slot extending lengthwise of the measuring portion. The slot will typically not extend completely along the measuring portion. Also preferred is that the weighing portion may be provided with a laterally extending portion which in use will be aligned with the slot in the measuring portion and through that slot, engage at least one of the indicators. 
         [0027]    At least one of the indicators will preferably be a ring and be provided with an inwardly extending flange which is also preferably aligned with the slot in use. The ring will typically be frictionally engaged by a portion of the measuring portion to prevent inadvertent movement or movement other than purposive movement. 
         [0028]    Weighing an item will preferably move the weighing portion with the laterally extending portion which will preferably engage the inwardly extending flange of the indicator moving it as well. The biasing means will typically act on the weighing portion and/or the measuring portion but not the indicator resulting the indicator being moved during weighing but maintaining its position after the weight is removed. 
         [0029]    Preferably, the weighing portion of the apparatus is in communication with biasing means. Any suitable biasing means may be used, such as, but not limited to, a spring. In some embodiments of the invention, the biasing means is connected to both the weighing portion and the measurement portion. Thus, when an item is retained on the weighing portion for weighing, the weighing portion is moved downwardly, thereby causing the biasing means to resist the movement whilst the measurement portion (and, specifically, the indicators) record the weight (or some other property) of the item. Removing the item from the weighing portion allows the biasing means to return the weighing portion to its start position. 
         [0030]    In some embodiments of the invention, the biasing means may be at least partially housed within a housing. Preferably, the housing is adapted to be at least partially housed within the measurement portion of the apparatus. Thus, in this embodiment of the invention, the body of the measurement portion of the apparatus may be at least partially hollow. The housing may be provided with one or more engagement means adapted to engage with one or more of the indicators, such that when an item is being weighed, the housing may move relative to the measurement portion. As the housing moves, the one or more engagement means may engage with one or more of the indicators, thereby causing it to move relative to the body of the measurement portion. The one or more engagement means may be of any suitable form, such as, but not limited to, projections, hooks, adhesive portions, loops or the like, or any combination thereof. Preferably, once the one or more indicators has finished moving it will be aligned with the series of indicia in such a way that a user will be able to read the weight (or some other property) of the item being weighed directly by comparing the position of the one or more indicators relative to the indicia. 
         [0031]    In some embodiments of the invention, once the item to be weighed has been removed from the weighing portion (i.e. after weighing has taken place), one or more of the indicators may return to its original starting position. Alternatively, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, all of the indicators may remain in their final position (i.e. the position the indicators move to when weighing of the item is taking place) even when the item being weighed has been removed from the weighing portion of the apparatus. In this embodiment of the invention, the fact that the indicators remain in their final position means that a user may record or view the measured weight at their leisure, rather than while the item being weighed is still retained on the weighing portion. This means the user has a greater chance of ensuring that they record the correct weight, reduces the risk of parallax error when reading the indicia, and means that the device may serve to reduce the risk of strain or injury that is associated with other similar devices where a user may be required to bend over, squat or kneel in order to read the weight of the item. 
         [0032]    Another advantage of the device of the present invention is that the device can be used to convert a known weight into a weight in a different unit provided that the different unit is marked on the device. If an item of known weight is picked up using the device, then the device will record the weight of that item in whatever units the device is set to. 
         [0033]    Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0034]    These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0035]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a weighing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0036]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exploded view of a weighing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0037]    Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. 
         [0038]    It will be appreciated that the drawings have been provided for the purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention and that the invention should not be considered to be limited solely to the features as shown in the drawings. 
         [0039]    In  FIG. 1  there is shown a weighing apparatus  10  according to an embodiment of the present invention. The weighing apparatus  10  comprises a weighing portion  11  comprising a hook  12  on which an item (not shown) to be weighed may be temporarily retained. The weighing portion  11  is connected to, and in communication with, a measurement portion  13  which comprises a hollow elongate body  14  and three indicators in the form of collars  15 ,  16 ,  17 . The measurement portion  13  also comprises a series of indicia  18  which form a readable scale that allows a user to accurately read the weight of the item (not shown). 
         [0040]    The first collar  15  may be set manually to indicate the empty (tare) weight of the item (not shown) on the indicia  18 . Similarly, the second collar  16  may be set manually to indicate the full weight of the item (not shown) on the indicia  18 . For ease of use, the first collar  15  and second collar  16  may be provided with the words “Empty” and “Full” to avoid confusion. Alternatively, the first collar  15  and second collar  16  could be provided with symbols or pictures to indicate full or empty. The third collar  17  is located intermediate the first collar  15  and the second collar  16  and is adapted to move relative to the body  14  of the weighing portion  13  when an item (not shown) is being weighed. Movement of the third collar  17  relative to the body  14  of the weighing portion  13  is achieved during weighing, as the weighing portion is connected to biasing means (obscured) which are in turn connected to a housing  19  housed within the body  14  of the weighing portion  13 . A window  25  is provided in the body  14  of the measurement portion  13  through which the housing  19  may be seen. 
         [0041]    The weight of an item (not shown), when temporarily retained on the hook  12  causes actuation of the biasing means (obscured), which in turn causes the housing  19  to move towards the end  20  of the apparatus  10 . 
         [0042]    As the housing  19  moves, engagement means in the form of a projection  21  located on the housing  19  engage with the third collar  17 , thereby causing the third collar  17  to move relative to the body  14  of the measurement portion  13  and towards the end  20  of the apparatus. The extent of movement of the third collar  17  is determined by the weight of the item (not shown): the heavier the item the closer to the second collar  16  the third collar  17  will move, whereas the lighter the item the closer to the first collar  15  the third collar  17  will remain. 
         [0043]    When the item (not shown) is removed from the hook  12 , the housing  19  will return to its rest position as shown in  FIG. 1 . When this occurs, the projection  21  will disengage from the third collar  17  and the third collar  17  will remain in the same position as when the item (not shown) was being weighed. Thus, the user will be able to remove the item (not shown) from the hook  12  but still be able to read the weight of the item at their leisure and with no difficulty. 
         [0044]    The third collar  17  is provided with its own indicia in the form of an arrow  22  to indicate the point on the indicia  18  at which the user should read the weight of the item (not shown). Any indicia may be used instead of an arrow: words, symbols, pictures and so on. 
         [0045]    The apparatus  10  is further provided with a handle  23  either for a user to hold, or to be suspended from or connected to a support such as a ledge, shelf, hook etc when the apparatus  10  is in use. 
         [0046]    In  FIG. 2  an exploded view of the apparatus  10  according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this Figure it may be seen that the weighing portion  11  is adapted for connection to biasing means in the form of a spring  24 , the spring being housed within a housing  19  which is in turn housed within the hollow body  14  of the measurement portion  13 . 
         [0047]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It will be understood that the present invention encompasses all such variations and modifications that fall within its spirit and scope. 
         [0048]    Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.