Improvements in Automatic Weighing and Delivering Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: 'Improvements in Automatic Weighing and Delivering Machines.
We, ARTHUR MAURICE ROBINSON, of Railway Works, Rochdale, in the County.
of Lancaster, Engineer, and JOHN BRIAN, of 12, Cyfarthfa Street, Cardiff, in the
County of Glamorgan, Corn Foreman, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
This invention relates more particularly to machines for weighing granular
substances and delivering the weighed quantities automatically, but it may be
applied for weighing and delivering other materials and liquids.
Heretofore machines of this class have been unreliable in operation on account
of the uncertain action of the levers and catches which it has been necessary
to use in order to ensure complete emptying of the weighing bucket before it
returns to position to receive a further quantity of material to be weighed.
Now our invention has for its object to provide weighing appliances simple in
construction and operation and in which the weighing bucket shall be completely
discharged before it returns to position to receive a further supply of material.
For this purpose we provide the scale beam, or an arm connected thereto,
with a ball or movable weight free to move in guides on the scale beam or on
such arm.
The usual discharge door of the weighing bucket is provided with a
lever, catch, or equivalent device so arranged that the said door can be openend
by the said movable ball or weight rolling against the said lever or equivalent.
The movable ball forms a considerable proportion of the weight to balance the
bucket and contents, and when such bucket has become full of material from
the usual feed hopper it descends and the movable ball rolls along the scale
beam against the lever or catch and opens the discharge door in the bucket. The
ball being now on the bucket end of the beam, the bucket is held down until
nearly completely emptied, a small margin of weight being left on the weights
end of the beam to bring up the bucket into position to be filled. When the
bucket has nearly reached its filling position the movable ball rolls back to
the weights end of the scale beam, and the door of the bucket closes, and is
kept closed by its lever or catch until again opened by the movable weight.
The feed door in the hopper is preferably operated by a lever from the weights
end of the scale beam, the weight of the lever tending to close the door when
so allowed by the rising of the weights end of the scale beam, the door is also
provided with a projection which rests against a catch on the scale beam to
prevent the door being completely shut at first so as to give a trickling feed
for accurate weighing. When the bucket has received the exact weight it
descends, the catch on the beam releases the projection on the door of the feed
hopper and such door is completely shut.
Dated this Tonth dose of Walum 1900

page_text: Improvements in Automatic Weighing and Delivering Machines.
We, ARTHUR MAURICE ROBINSON, of Railway Works, Rochdale, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, and JOHN BRIAN, of 12, Cyfarthfa Street, Cardiff, in the
County of Glamorgan, Corn Foreman, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion 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 drawings illustrative of our invention:―
This invention relates more particularly to machines for weighing granular
substances and delivering the weighed quantities automatically, but it may be
applied for weighing and delivering other materials and liquids.
Heretofore machines of this class have been unreliable in operation on account
of the uncertain action of the levers and catches which it has been necessary
to use in order to ensure complete emptying of the weighing bucket before it
returns to position to receive a further quantity of material to be weighed.
Now our invention has for its object to provide weighing appliances simple in
construction and operation and in which the weighing bucket shall be completely
discharged before it returns to position to receive a further supply of material.
For this purpose we provide the scale beam, or an arm connected thereto,
with a ball or movable weight free to move in guides on the scale beam or on
such arm. The usual discharge door of the weighing bucket is provided with a
lever, catch, or equivalent device so arranged that the said door can be opened
by the said movable ball or weight rolling against the said lever or equivalent.
The movable ball forms a considerable proportion of the weight to balance the
bucket and contents, and when such bucket has become full of material from
the usual feed hopper it descends and the movable ball rolls along the scale
beam against the lever or catch and opens the discharge door in the bucket. The
ball being now on the bucket end of the beam, the bucket is held down until
nearly completely emptied, a small margin of weight being left on the weights
end of the beam to bring up the bucket into position to be filled. When the
bucket has nearly reached its filling position the movable ball rolls back to
the weights end of the scale beam and the door of the bucket closes, and is
kept closed by its lever or catch until again opened by the movable weight.
The feed door in the hopper is preferably operated by a lever from the weights
end of the scale beam, the weight of the lever tending to close the door when
so allowed by the rising of the weights end of the scale beam, the door is also
provided with a projection which rests against a catch on or movable by the
scale beam to prevent the door being completely shut at first so as to give a
trickling feed for accurate weighing. When the bucket has received the exact
weight it descends, the catch releases the projection on the door of the feed
hopper and such door is completely shut.
DESCRIPTION OF TILE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 a plan of an automatic weighing and
delivering machine under our invention as arranged for use in connection with
weighing grain. a is the main frame of the machine. b is a scale beam
supported by knife edges c on the main frame as usual. d is the weighing
bucket suspended to the scale beam. e is a ball or weight free to roll or move
along guides or rails f on the scale beam, or if desired such guides may be
carried on an arm secured to the scale beam in any convenient way. g is an
adjustable stop to limit the travel of the ball in one direction. h is a screw
and hand wheel to adjust the stop g so that the ball is arrested in the position

page_text: to give correct weighing. is the discharge door of the bucket. j is a lever
pivotted to the bucket at k and having one arm acting against or connected
to the door i, the other arm extending up above the scale beam but not
connected thereto; the lever is of such weight, or is provided with a separate
weight, that the door is normally kept closed against the weight of the
grain in the bucket. m is the usual feed hopper connected to or supplied from
a bin as desired. n is the usual swinging feed door suspended from pivots o
and operated by a lever p and connections from the end of the scale
beam SO that when the end is depressed the door n is opened
and when the end rises the door is allowed to close, the weight
of the lever p assisting to close such door. q¹ are adjustable nuts on a screw
on the rod connected to the lever and passing through an eye ² on the
scale beam so as to allow a certain amount of free play between the scale beam
and the lever. The door n is provided with a projection which, when the door
is closing, comes against a catch s so as to prevent the door being completely
closed, thereby giving a trickling feed. The catch s is movable by a portion
of the scale beam 63 to release the projection r.
The action is as follows:-The bucket d being empty the end of the beam
is depressed, the ball e resting against the stop g and the feed door n being
opened by the lever p. Grain runs from the hopper m into the bucket until
such bucket has received nearly the desired weight. The bucket then descends a
little, raising the end of the beam and allowing the door n to close until the
projection comes against the catch s. Grain then trickles slowly into the bucket
until it has received the exact weight when it descends further, the beam re-
leasing the catch s from the projection and allowing the door n to completely
close. At the same time the ball e rolls along the guides f and strikes against
the arm of the lever j, and forces it into the position shown in dotted lines j³,
thereby allowing the door of the bucket to open and the grain to run out.
The ball e is of considerable weight and being now on the bucket end of the
beam holds it down until the bucket is nearly emptied. When nearly emptied
the margin of weight left on the weights end of the beam raises the bucket into
filling position again, the last of the grain running out during the period of
rising, the ball e rolls back against the stop g, the lever j closes the door i, and
the lever p opens the feed door n; the operation is then repeated.
It will be obvious that if desired, the door i might be kept closed by a spring,
or other, catch, and that the lever might be arranged in any convenient manner
to release such catch when the weight e strikes against such lever.
We do not confine ourselves to the exact arrangements shown as it will be
obvious that various arrangements of parts may be made without departing from
the nature of the invention but,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
First. The combination with a weighing machine of a weighing bucket having
a discharge door provided with a lever, catch, or equivalent device; guides on
or attached to the scale beam; and a ball or weight movable on the guides and
arranged to open or release the said discharge door by rolling against the said
lever, catch, or equivalent device, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Second. The combination with a weighing machine of a ball or weight free
to move on guides and arranged to open or release the discharge door of the
weighing bucket by rolling against a lever, catch, or equivalent device connected
to such door; and to hold down the bucket until nearly emptied, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
Third. The combination with a weighing machine of a weighing bucket having
a discharge door provided with a lever, catch, or equivalent device; a movable
ball or weight free to roll against tthe said lever, catch, or equivalent device and

page_text: to hold down the bucket end of the scale beam; and a catch engaging with a
projection on the door of the feed hopper, substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
Dated this Sixth day of November 1899.
W. B. JOHNSON,
4, Clayton Square, Liverpool, Agent.