IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING GRAIN AND OTHER ARTICLES, TO BE CALLED THE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC GRAIN SCALE
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davies, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn,
in the County of Middlesex, and of No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the
City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention
of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING GRAIN AND OTHER ARTICLES, TO BE
CALLED THE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC GRAIN SCALE." "A communication from
Nathan M. Phillips, of the City of New York, U. S. A.
Sealed the 11th December 1857, and dated the 12th June 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th June 1857.
I, GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of.
Middlesex, and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING GRAIN AND OTHER ARTICLES,
TO BE CALLED 'THE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC GRAIN SCALE,'" a communication from
Nathan M. Phillips, of the City of New York, U. S. A., to be, as follows:-
!
This Invention relates to scales for weighing grain and other articles,
which will run into and out from the scale bin and hopper by their own
gravity, and consists principally in attaching valves to the bin and to the
hopper of a scale (for weighing such or similar articles), which valves are
operated by the action of an electro-niagnet when the requisite amount of
grain or other article is contained in the hopper. The Invention can be
attached to any desired style or form of weighing machine, but for the sake
of illustration I will describe it as adapted to a lever scale beam. To the

page_text: short end of the lever a hopper is attached to contain the grain or other
article to be weighed, immediately above which is a bin in which the grain
is placed. The bin and the hopper have each a mouth or opening below,
which are closed by valves so arranged and connected that the opening of
one shall cause the closing of the other, and vice versa. To these valves a
lever is connected, the other end of which carries the armature of an electro-
magnet, to which is also attached a lever to preserve the parallelism of the
armature to the ends of the magnet. The lever which carries the armature
is provided with a platinum spring, which projects immediately over a
platinum point attached to the long arm of the scale lever or beam. The
wire from the positive pole of a galvanic battery, after being coiled around
the electro-magnet, is connected to the scale beam at or near its centre of
motion, and the wire from the negative pole of the same is connected to the
platinum spring. When the armature is withdrawn from the magnet, it
causes its lever to open the valve of the bin and allows the grain or other
article to fall into the hopper below. As soon as the requisite weight of
grain has fallen into the hopper, the rising of the other end of the scale beam
brings the platinum point into contact with the platinum spring, and thus
completes the electric circuit. The armature is immediately attracted to the
magnet, causing the lever to close the bin valve and stop the descent of any
more grain, and at the same time open the hopper valve and allow the weighed
grain to fall into a sack or other receptacle beneath. The hopper being thus
lightened, rises and breaks the electric circuit, and upon the attendant with-
drawing the armature the operation proceeds as before.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed 2
by the said George Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
and No. 28,,St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and 3
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Davies, Her special licence that I, the said George Davies, my

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Davies, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree.
with, and. no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
WEIGHING GRAIN AND OTHER ARTICLES, TO BE CALLED THE ELECTRO-MAGNETIC
GRAIN SCALE," being a communication from Nathan M
Phillips; of the
City of New York, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Davies, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Davies, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to scales for weighing grain and other articles,
which will run into and out from the scale bin and hopper by their own
gravity, and consists principally in attaching valves to the bin and to the
hopper of a scale (for weighing such or similar articles), which valves are
operated by the action of an electro-magnet when the requisite amount of
grain or other article is contained in the hopper."
The Invention can be attached to any desired style of form of weighing
machine, but for the sake of illustration I will describe it as adapted to a lever
scale beam. To the short end of the lever a hopper is attached to contain
the grain or other article to be weighed, immediately above which is a bin
in which the grain is placed. The bin and the hopper have each a mouth
or opening below, which are closed by valves, so arranged and connected
that the opening of one: shall cause the closing of the other, and vice
versa. To these valves a lever is connected, the other end of which carries
the armature of an electro-magnet, to which is also attached a lever to
preserve the parallelism of the armature to the ends of the magnet. The
lever which carries the armature is provided with a platinum spring, which
projects immediately over a platinum point attached to the long arm of
the scale lever or beam. The wire from the positive pole of a galvanic

page_text: battery, after being coiled around the electro-magnet, is connected to the
scale beam at or near its centre of motion, and the wire from the negative
pole of the same is connected to the platinum spring. When the armature
is withdrawn from the magnet, it causes its lever to open the valve of the bin
and allows the grain or other article to fall into the hopper below. As soon
as the requisite weight of grain has fallen into the hopper, the rising of the
other end of the scale beam brings the platinum point into contact with the
platinum spring, and thus completes the electric circuit. The armature is
immediately attracted to the magnet, causing the lever to close the bin valve
and stop the descent of any more grain, and at the same time open the hopper
valve and allow the weighed grain to fall into a sack or other receptacle
beneath. The hopper being thus lightened, rises and breaks the electric
circuit, and upon the attendant withdrawing the armature the operation
proceeds as before.
Such being the nature and object of the said Invention of improved
apparatus for weighing grain and other articles, to be called "the electro-
magnetic grain scale," I will proceed to describe more in detail the con-
struction of the apparatus. And in order that the same may be more readily
and clearly understood, I have annexed to this Specification a Sheet of
illustrative Drawings, and have marked the same with figures and letters
of reference corresponding with those in the following explanation thereof,
that is to say:-
Figure 1 in the Drawing shews a side elevation of the apparatus as applied
to a scale beam, and Figure 2 is a plan view of the same. A is a lever scale
beam of the ordinary construction, with a hopper B attached to its short end
to contain the grain to be weighed; E is a moveable weight to balance and
adjust the scale; F is the discharging valve to the hopper, which when
closed retains the grain in the hopper, and when opened allows it to run out;
G is an electro-magnet of the ordinary construction; H is the armature of
the magnet; I is a lever, attached to and worked by the armature H and
the connecting rod K, by which the inlet valve P at the mouth of the bin.S
is closed, and the delivery valve F at the mouth of the hopper B is opened;
J is a counterbalance weight to balance the weight of the lever I; L is the
connecting cup of the positive pole of a galvanic battery; M is the connecting
cup of the negative pole of the battery; N is a platinum spring to form the
connection of the two poles of the battery at the platinum point Oat the
end of the scale beam; P is the inlet valve at the mouth of the grain bin;
Qis a lever (worked by the operator) to close the valve F, open the valve P,
and remove the armature H from contact with the electro-magnet when the

page_text: grain has been duly discharged from the hopper B; S is the bin for con-
taining the supply of grain to be weighed; T is a rod, attached to the
armature H, for the purpose of preserving the parallelism of the armature to
the ends of the magnet G.
The wire from the connecting cup of the positive pole of the battery is
carried to and attached to the scale beam at R, and that from the connecting
cup of the negative pole to the platinum spring N; the electric current passes
from the positive pole to the cup L, thence around the coiled wire on the
magnet, and through the connecting wire to the scale beam at R. When
the requisite weight of grain is received in the hopper B, the beam A rises,
forming a connection at the platinum point O and spring N with the negative
pole M of the battery, and completing the electric circuit. The connection
and circuit being thus formed, causes the magnet G to attract and draw to it
the armature H, moving with it the lever I, closing the valve P and opening
the valve F, and allowing the grain in the hopper B to be discharged into
a bag or other receptacle. The valve F is closed, the valve P opened, and
the armature H withdrawn from the magnet by the lever Q, worked by the
operator after the grain is discharged from the hopper, and the operation is
repeated as before.
Having thus described the nature and object of the said Invention of
Improved Apparatus for Weighing Grain and other Articles, to be called
The Electro-magnetic Grain Scale,'" together with the manner of carrying
the same into practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that what I
claim as the Invention communicated to me, and desire to secure by Letters
Patent, is, the application of an electro-magnet to operate the inlet and
delivery valves of a scale for weighing grain and other articles of a similar
nature, by making a connection between the positive and negative poles of
a galvanic battery by means of the tilting or raising of the beam of the
scale, as herein described, and for the purposes set forth, or any analogous
arrangement substantially the same, to produce the same effect.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davies, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
GEORGE DAVIES. (L.S.)