AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR CORRECTLY TRANSMITTING THE EFFECT OF THE MAIN LEVERS IN PLATFORM IN PLATFORM SCALES TO THE STEELYARD OR WEIGHING BEAM OF PLATFORM SCALES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William James Williams, of Warnford Court, in the-
City of London, Merchant, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PROCESS
FOR CORRECTLY TRANSMITTING THE EFFECT OF THE MAIN LEVERS IN PLATFORM
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William James Williams
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st November 1861.
I, WILLIAM JAMES WILLIAMS, of Warnford Court, in the City of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IM-
PROVED PROCESS FOR CORRECTLY TRANSMITTING THE EFFECT OF THE MAIN LEVERS IN
PLATFORM SCALES TO THE STEELYARD OR WEIGHING BEAM OF PLATFORM SCALES," to
be as follows, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in substituting two short cranks or angles of a similar
form to bell-cranks or their equivalents for the shaft or rocking lever generally
used in platform scales to convey the effect of the main levers, such levers
being vertical to the steelyard or weighing beam.
I place one of the said cranks or handles at each of the two corners of the
scale frame or platform, where the connections are made from the said shaft or
rocking lever to the lower end of the said vertical levers, and rest them on perpen-
dicular knife edge bearings at the angle, the said edges form the axis of motion
of the two arms or cranks; one of these arms I place in a line about parallel
with the cross section of the frame, and connect it near the end by a wrought-
iron rod or its equivalent on a knife edge bearing to the lower end of the ver-
tical lever on that side of the scale; the other angle or crank I place at the
°

page_text: other corner of the frame or platform in like manner, and connect it in the same
way with the vertical lever on that side of the scale; this position of the cranks
or angles leaves one arm of each laying longitudinally parallel with the frame
of the scale, which two arms I connect together by means of an iron rod also
on knife edges, and this rod or its equivalent may be extended to any location
where it may be desired to place the weighing beam or steelyard of the scale,
there to be connected in like manner to the lower end of the perpendicular
arm of another crank or angle, the axis of whose motion is horizontal; and
near the end of the other or horizontal arm of the same angle I attach in a
similar manner the perpendicular rod that connects with the weighing beam
or steelyard of the scale.
A similar device may be used to transmit the effect of levers other than
vertical of platform scales to the weighing beam or steelyard of such scales.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William James Williams in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JAMES WILLIAMS, of Warnford Court, in the City of London, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William James Williams, Her special licence that I, the said William James
Williams, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William James Williams, 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 "AN IMPROVED
PROCESS FOR CORRECTLY TRANSMITTING THE EFFECT OF THE MAIN LEVERS IN PLAT-
FORM SCALES TO THE STEELYARD OR WEIGHING BEAM OF PLATFORM SCALES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William James Williams, 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

page_text: was to be
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
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 William James Williams, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in substituting two short cranks or angles of a form
either similar to or acting in the same way as bell-cranks or their equivalents
for the shaft or rocking lever generally used in platform scales to convey the
effect of the main levers, such levers being vertical to the steelyard or
weighing beam.
I place one of the said cranks or angles at each of the two corners of the
scale frame or platform, when the connections are made from the shaft or
rocking lever to the lower end of the said levers, and rest them upon perpen-
dicular knife-edge bearings at the angle; the said edges form the axes or
centres of motion of the two arms or cranks; one of these arms I place in a
line about parallel with the cross section of the frame, and connect it near the
end by a wrought-iron rod or its equivalent on a knife-edge bearing to the
lower end of the vertical lever on that side of the scale; the other angle or
crank I place at the other corner of the frame or platform in like manner, and
connect it in the same way with the vertical lever on that side of the scale..
This position of the cranks or angles leaves one arm of each laying longitudi-
nally parallel with the frame of the scale, which two arms I connect together
by means of an iron rod, also on knife edges; and this rod or its equivalent
may be extended to any point where it may be desired to place the weighing
beam or steelyard of the scale, there to be connected in like manner to the
lower end of the perpendicular arm of another crank or angle, the axis of
whose motion is horizontal; and near the end of the other or horizontal arm of
the same angle. I attach in a similar manner the perpendicular rod that
connects it with the weighing beam or steelyard of the scale.
A similar device may be used to transmit the effect of levers other than
vertical in platform scales to the weighing beam or steelyard of such scales.
In order more clearly to illustrate the nature of my Invention, I have to
this Specification appended the accompanying Drawings, which are intended
to shew the general principles which I adopt in the application of my Inven-
tion to platform scales, it being understood that modifications of the various
parts, and the methods of applying and disposing of them, will necessarily be

page_text: Figure 1 is a side elevation representing the form, arrangement, and appli-
cation of my crank pieces to an ordinary platform scale, the crank pieces being
vertical; Figure 1ª is a continuation of the same application of the same
system, the crank pieces being horizontal instead of vertical; Figure 2 is a
plan shewing the application of the same cranks and movement to a scale
where vertical levers are used on each side; Figure 3 is a similar view to
Figure 1; and Figure 4, a plan of Figure 3. a, a¹, (Figure 1, are the
rocking levers, which in an ordinary platform scale transmit directly the weight
or pressure to the main lever or steelyard.
My Invention consists in the introduction at this part of the machine of one
or more links, levers, or angle pieces, so formed and arranged as to act after
the manner of bell-cranks, and by means of them to transmit more accurately
and through any space the weight or pressure to the beam or steelyard of the
scale.
S (Figure 1) is a standard or bearer fixed firmly in the frame B; upon this
bearer is suspended by means of the knife edge d the angle or crank piece b,
whose function, by means of its arrangement, will be similar to that of a bell-
crank; this angle piece has formed upon it a knife edge c, preferably, so that
the line joining the edges of c and d shall be nearly horizontal; a similar
knife edge e is formed at the bottom of the angle piece b, and to it is attached
the link f, which communicates by means of the horizontal rod 9, with a similar
link f¹, (Figure 1, which is attached to the knife edge cformed in the angle
piece b¹, which has a function the same as 6 in Figure 1; this 'angle piece' 6' is
supported on the bearer s¹ by means of the knife edge d', and has a similar knife
edge at its other extremity, upon which works the vertical rod g', and from
which the weight is communicated either directly or by means of other
similarly working crank pieces to the horizontal weighing beam or steelyard of
the scales.
The action of this arrangement is as follows:-Upon pressure being applied
to the rocking or depressing levers a, a', or any other equivalents representing
them, the force is transmitted to the crank lever 6 through the knife edge c,
the knife edge d acting as a fixed centre or fulcrum pin, upon which b oscil-
lates; this causes a displacement of the knife edges c and e, the difference of
which is in the ratio of c, e, to d, e; the motion at e is communicated by means
of the rod g to the link f', which in its turn acting upon the knife edge c¹ causes

page_text: the crank lever 6' to turn upon the fixed knife edge d, which is supported
upon the standard s¹, the displacement or motion at c¹ is again transmitted in
a magnified form to the knife edge e, and hence through the vertical rod g¹ to
the beam or steelyard of the scale, as before mentioned.
It will be easily understood that although one pair of the cranks (a vertical
and horizontal one) are only shewn in the Drawing, another pair may be added
symetrical with these, and by means of connecting rods and cranks having a
similar arrangement, the motion, weight, or pressure may be transmitted to any
distance from where it acts.
It will also be easily seen that the only difference between the arrangement
in Figures 1 and 1ª is, that in the former the crank piece acts vertically, and
the latter horizontally. In Figure 1ª also it will be seen that the crank piece
is formed in two parts, having a lengthening bar x, which, by means of the
junction y, increases the distance between the fulcrum edge d' and the edge e'.
Figure 2, as before mentioned, is a plan, shewing the application of the same
principle to a scale, having side vertical levers. The same letters refer to
similar parts, as in Figures 1 and 1°.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and of. what the same
consists, is formed, and acts, I wish it understood that I claim as new and
desire secured by the before in part recited Letters Patent, the method of
transmitting the effect of the main levers in platform scales to the steelyard or
weighing beam of these scales by means of a system or systems of crank pieces
or crank levers, knife edges, connecting or transmitting rods, substantially as
described in the accompanying Specification, and more fully illustrated in the
appended Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William James Williams, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness to the Signature of the said
William James Williams,
JAMES WRIGHT,
42, Bridge Street, Blackfriars,
London.
W. J. WILLIAMS. (L.S.)