New or Improved Weighing Apparatus for Letters, Newspapers, and Parcels.
Year: 1888

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Weighing Apparatus for Letters, Newspapers,
and Parcels.
1, FREDERICK HENRY SMITH, of 115 Cannon Street, in the City of London,
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
—
The weighing apparatus forming the subject of the present invention is specially
intended for readily ascertaining the value of stamps required for any letter, news-
paper or parcel it is desired to send through the post, and is preferably made so that
it may be folded together into small compass when not immediately required for the
purpose of weighing.
The apparatus consists of the following arrangement of parts :-To a suitable
hase is hinged, or otherwise suitably attached, a perpendicular pillar or standard, and
to the upper part of this pillar or standard is centred or pivotted a weighing beam,
preferably passing through the upper part of the said pillar or standard. One end of
this beam is weighted, and the other end is graduated or notched and is provided with
a hook, clip, or scale to receive the letter packet or parcel it is desired to weigh. The
upper end of the hook, clip, or scale is adapted to be easily slid along the weigh
beam and to take into the notches thereon. The weigh beam is preferably stamped
or marked on one side with the various values of stamps required for inland postage
for letters and book-packets, and on the other side with the various values of stamps
required for countries included in the Postal Union, or other foreign countries;
one such indication of value being opposite to each of the beforementioned graduations
or notches. Or the notched end of the weigh beam may be forked or branched
out, so that one fork or branch shall indicate inland letter postage, another newspaper
or book postage, and another Postal Union postages for example, and the hook, clip
or scale may be employed on either according to circumstances.
The pillar or standard may be made telescopic or otherwise capable of being
increased in height according to the size and shape of the letter or other article to be
weighed.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Weighing Apparatus for Letters, Newspapers,
and Parcels.
I, FREDERICK HENRY SMITH, of 115, Cannon Street, in the City of London,
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of Drawings and
to the letters and figures marked thereon that is to say :-
The weighing apparatus forming the subject of the present invention is specially
intended for readily ascertaining the value of stamps required for any letter,
newspaper or parcel it is desired to send through the post, and may be made so that
it can be folded together or taken to pieces to facilitate packing it into a small compass
when not immediately required for the purpose of weighing, or if it be desired to
send it from place to place.
In the drawings hereto annexed Figure 1 is an elevation of a weighing apparatus
constructed in accordance with my invention and Figure 2 is a plan of the upper
part of Figure 1.
To a suitable base A is attached a pillar or standard B, the upper part B₁ of
which is fork-shaped and furnished with steel knife edge bearings C. D D¹ is a
weighing beam placed between the branches of the fork B¹ and furnished with steel
knife edges E which rest on the bearings C in the usual way. One end D of this
beam carries a counterweight F and the other end D' is made of thin metal on
which is formed one or more graduated scales furnished with a notch in the edge of
the metal at each division of such scale. G is a pan or hook to receive the letter,
packet or parcel to be weighed. If preferred a spring clip or other suitable instrument
for holding the letter, packet or parcel may be employed instead of a pan or book.
The pan, hook, clip or other instrument is hung to a hook H adapted to slide to
and fro over the scales and to take into any one of the notches formed on the
edges thereof. The part D¹ of the weigh beam may be shaped and graduated in
various ways according to circumstances. In the drawing it is shown with two
graduated parts, the upper part D² graduated to indicate the inland postage of letters
books and papers, and the lower part D³ graduated for the postage of letters to
foreign countries in the postal union. The upper and lower graduated parts D² D³ are
shown connected together by the slot D' to enable the hook H to be moved from one
scale to the other with facility. Instead of the graduated part being formed of two
separate branches D2 and D³ both marked on one side of the weigh beam as shown in
the Drawing it may consist of a single graduated part marked on one side of the
weigh beam with the various values of stamps required for inland postage for letters,
and book packets, and on the other side with the various values of stamps required
for countries included in the Postal Union, or other foreign countries, the notches on

page_text: the edge of the graduated part of the weigh beam being placed to correspond to the
graduations on both sides thereof. Or if desired the weigh beam may be furnished
with three or more graduated and notched parts to suit various rates of postage
and if desired each such part may be marked on both sides with different graduations
and the same hook H may be employed on either according to circumstances.
It will now be understood that when it is desired to weigh a letter, a book packet or
a parcel it is placed on the scale, hook or clip G and the hook P is moved to or from
the fulcrum E along the edge of the appropriate scale or graduated part on the weigh
beam D' until it reaches a notch where the weight of the article just fails to counter-
balance the weight F, that is to draw the pointer I, on the weigh beam, to the right
(in the drawing Figure 1) of the pointer J fixed to the arm K rising from the upper
part B' of the standard B. The figure marked against that notch will indicate the
value of the stamps required to prepay the postage of the article thus weighed.
LL are slots cut in the branches of the forked part B¹ to enable the knife edges E
to be passed to or from the bearings C when is desired to place the weigh beam D D¹
in position on the standard or to remove it therefrom. In Figure 1 these slots are
shown formed in an angular position to avoid the arm K, in the modification shown
in Figure 3 they are shown vertical the arm K and the pointers I J being dispensed
with. M is a stop on the arm D of the weigh beam, which comes against the upper
part B of the standard to prevent the counterbalance weight F from falling below a
certain point when no load is applied to the arm D¹ of the weigh beam.
The standard B may be permanently connected to the base A, or be made removeable
therefrom, for example, it may be screwed permanently into the said base, or be
hinged thereto so that it can be folded down thereon to facilitate packing, or it may
be fitted to the base by screwing or otherwise so that it can be readily detached there-
from to facilitate packing or to render it more portable, and the pillar or standard B
may be made telescopic or otherwise capable of being increased or decreased in height,
according to the size and shape of the article to be weighed.
It is obvious that the graduations on the weigh beam D¹ may be marked with
figures or letters indicating weight instead of money value if preferred.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
or
The new or improved weighing apparatus consisting of a weigh beam mounted on
a pillar or standard and provided at one side of the fulcrum with divisions
graduations indicating the weight, or the values of the stamps appropriate to the
weight of the article to be weighed, and at the other side of the fulcrum with a
counterbalance weight; the weight of the article, or the corresponding amount of
postage being found by shifting the position of the article to be weighed on the
graduated scale, as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in the Drawings hereto
annexed.
בז
11-
11
1
CML
1
1000