IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WEIGHING MACHINES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Julius Schönemann, of 89, Portland Street, Portland
Place, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WEIGHING MACHINES."-A communication.
Sealed the 4th December 1857, and dated the 25th July 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Julius Schönemann at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on tho
25th July 1857.
I, JULIUS SCHÖNEMANN, of 89, Portland Street, Portland Place, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WEIGHING MACHINES" (a com-
munication), be as follows:-
The object of the improvements, which have been communicated to me by
a foreigner residing abroad, is to simplify the means by which the parallel
movement of the platform is effected. To attain that end, the following
new methods of suspending the platform from the beam have been introduced,
made use of, and employed.
I. The beam for one platform machine is a bar, undivided in that part of
its length from which either a scale or a shifting weight is suspended, and
divided in two bars in the other part, the axis of the beam being passed
through the two bars and the platform suspended from them. The platform

page_text: consists of an horizontal table, and an upright dovetailed into it. The one
bar of the beam is placed into a hole that has been made in the upright for
that purpose; from the other bar a connecting link is suspended, the lower
part of which is linked to a hook or ring that has been fixed to the upright.
To insure the parallel movement of the platform, only two links are
required, videlizet, one stay link (being an undivided metal bar or rod), and
one connecting link, these parallel motion pieces hinging between a vertical
part of the foundation frame and the upright of the platform.
The two platforms of a double platform weighing machine are suspended in
the same way, the beam best adapted to such machines consisting of two
parallel bars, which are joined together by cross pieces.
II. The platform is suspended from the beam by means of a lifting board.
I call "lifting board" a board or metal plate, by means of which the
vibrations of the beam are transfered to the platform of a weighing machine,
and vice versa.
The beam and platform are made in the same way as said before; the two
bars of the beam are placed into two holes that have been made for that
purpose in the lifting board near its top end. Two iron bars, fastened with
screws to the platform, are with their projecting ends laid into two other holes
(near the bottom) of the lifting board. The parallel motion pieces are the
same as has been detailed above.
The lifting board can be suspended from one bar of the beam by means of
a vertical connecting link, or the platform can, by means of such a link, be
suspended from one side of the lifting board; but in both cases either two
stay links and one connecting link, or two connecting links and one stay link,
must be employed as parallel motion picces.
III. The platform is, by means of a lifting board, suspended from a com-
pound beam. The beam consists of two bars, cach of which is undivided
through its whole length, the one being (what is called in mechanics) a lever
of the first order, the other, a lever of the third order. The former bar shall,
for shortness' sake, be called the "first lever," and the other the "second
lever." The first lever has its fulcrum on the top of one pillar of the
foundation frame, one of its arms carrying a scale or shifting weight, whilst
from the end of its other arm, by means of a vertical connecting link, one end
of the second lever is suspended. The fulcrum of the second lever (being on
its opposite end) is supported on the top of a second pillar of the foundation
frame. The two levers are so laid as to have a common plan of vibration.
The lifting board is suspended from the two levers by means of two vertical
connecting links. The distance of the points of suspension from the two

page_text: fulcra, respectively, must be proportional in the second lever to its whole
length, in the first lever to the length of its second arm. The platform,
consisting of the same parts as has been said above, and having its upright
placed in a position parallel to the lifting board, is carried by the lifting board
in the same way as has been detailed, sub. II., its parallel movement being
insured by three parallel motion pieces (videlicet, two stay links and one
connecting link.) hinging between the upright of the platform and an upright
of the foundation frame.
For a double platform machine, three pillars must be erected in a straight
line on the foundation frame; the bar, being a lever of the first order, has its
fulcrum on the middle pillar, and from the end of either of its arms a lever of
the third order is suspended, having its fulcrum on one of the other two
pillars. The lifting boards are suspended from two-and-two beams, and the
platforms are connected to the lifting boards in the same way as has been
detailed before. All the points of contact are, as a matter of course, steel
edges on plates of hardened metal.
To secure my platform against being brought out of order by a sudden
shock, I have two rings screwed to two opposite sides of the platform, and
two pins projecting from the foundation frame passed through the rings.
Another arrangement is to have two lathes screwed to the uprights or
pillars of the foundation frame, and from either lathe two pins, projecting in
such a way as to have the upright of the platform between them, which
thereby is prevented from vibrating beyond two marked straight lines.
To indicate when the two weights are in equilibrium, a pointer is fixed to
the axis of the beam, and a corresponding mark is made in the upright or
pillar of the foundation frame.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Julius Schönemann in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 10th December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JULIUS
SCHÖNEMANN, of 89, Portland Street, Portland Place, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord Ono
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her 'reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said

page_text: Julius Schönemann, Her special licence that I, the said Julius Schönemann,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Julius
Schönemann, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF WEIGHING MACHINES" (a communication from a foreigner residing abroad),
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Julius Schönemann, 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 Julius Schönemann, 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 (that is to say):
:-
This Invention consists in an improved method of conducting or guiding the
platform of weighing machines, which method is not attended with the usual
impediments to the free motion of the platform, the parallel motion of the latter
being thereby secured, and consequently exact results in weighing obtained.
In order that these improvements may be more clearly understood, and
readily carried into effect, I will now proceed to describe the same, reference
being had to the annexed Sheets of Drawings, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon. And I wish to observe that, for the purpose of establishing
a clear distinction between the various modifications of weighing machines to
which this Invention refers, I shall mark them successively as the first, second,
third, fourth, fifth, and sixth construction.
45
First construction:-In Sheet 1, Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of a
single platform weighing machine" of the improved construction; Fig. 2
being a side elevation, and Fig. 3 a ground plan, of the same.
The beam c, a, a, b, b' (see Figs. 1 & 3), which is in this instance bipartite
on one side of the axis, whilst its branches unite into one on the other side,
is supported by the knife edges a, a' (see Fig. 3), on the top of the posts or
pillars S, S, S', S¹ (see Fig. 1), which are fixed to the foundation blocks
F, F, F, F, an arrangement which admits of the beam vibrating freely on
its axis. From the knife edge c, which may be fixed to that part of the beam

page_text: opposite to the platform, at any convenient distance from the axis, a scale
(not shown in the Drawing) is suspended, or instead of the scale a sliding
weight may be employed, the arrangement for which is so well known to
every weighing machine maker that a description of it would be superfluous.
The platform is suspended from two other knives b, b' (see Figs. 1 & 3), and
it consists of a horizontal table T, T, T, T, upon which the articles to be
weighed are placed, and a partition or upright W, W, the two being firmly
united together at a right angle, and thus forming one compact body. The
upright W, W, is hung to the arms a, b, a, b, of the beam hole being cut in
the upright to receive the knife edge b', whilst a slot in the link k, l, which is
attached to a ring bolt fixed in the upright (see Figs. 1 & 2), holds the knife
edge b.
The parallel motion of the platform is secured, on the one hand, by the
connecting link n, m, and on the other by the stay link 9, p, both of which
are made of iron of sufficient strength, of equal length, and placed parallel to
each other between the upright W, W, of the platform and the partition U, U,
which connects the pillars S, S, S', S' (see Figs. 1 & 2). It is advisable,
although not absolutely necessary, to place these two links in one perpendicular
plane. Their distance from either of the two pillars S, S, S', S', is a matter
of no consequence, and they might even be made to hinge on either of the
two pillars; in which latter case the partition U, U, could, be dispensed with,.
cross stays being substituted in lieu thereof to connect the foundation blocks
F, F, & F, F, with cach other, and to hold them the proper distance apart.
A finger t, t, is fixed on one end of the axis, which is intended to indicate by
its position relative to the point x, fixed in the pillar S, S, whether the beam
is in equilibrium.
Two ring bolts vand v', one of which is screwed into either side of the
platform, moving on the corresponding pins or studs u & u', which are fixed
to the foundation blocks, secure the platform from being thrown out of its
position by any sudden shock.
Second construction.-Fig. 4 is a side elevation, and Fig. 5 a ground plan,
of a "double platform weighing machine," Fig. 8 being a perspective view
of the beam.
The two pillars S & S (one of which only is shown in Fig. 4), which are
raised upon the foundation blocks F & F, are perforated at their upper ends,
and contain the bearings which support the knife edges a & a¹ of the axis,
and they are connected with each other by a partition, which in Fig. 4 is
covered by the pillar S, and in Fig. 5 by the axis of the beam. The beam
consists of two parallel bars, firmly joined together by cross pieces, and it is

page_text: fitted with four knife edges b, b, c, c¹ (see Fig. 8), fixed into the bars at right
angles to the direction of their length, and near their extreme upper ends, in
such a manner that b&b and c & c respectively lie in one straight line
parallel to the axis a, a'. For light weights the beam generally made use of
in the "Roberval" weighing machines, for an illustration of which sec Sheet
1, Figs. A & B, may be employed. From either pair of knives 6, 6', &c, c',
a platform is suspended, each of them consisting of a horizontal table and an
upright, as shown in Fig. 4, where one system is marked W, T, T, and the
other W, T, T. The upright W of the platform W, T, T, is perforated on
the side of the beam 6', c', and contains the rest or bearing for the knife edge
b', whilst from the knife is suspended a link k, l, which supports in a slot at
its lower end the platform by means of a knife edge l, which projects from the
upright W. The other platform W, T, T, is similarly suspended from the
knife edges c, c', the latter (c) being connected with the platform by means of
a link, and the former (c) directly, in the manner previously described with
reference to the platform W, T, T. The parallel motion of each platform is
insured by a pair of links, the stay link q, p, and the connecting link n, m,
belonging to the platform W, T, T, whilst the stay link q', p', and the con-
necting link n¹, m³, serve for the platform W', T', 'T' (see Fig. 4), the connecting
links being in Fig. 5 covered by the stay links. And it is to be observed
that these links are parallel to each other as well as to the beam, and havo
their centres of vibration respectively in the partition connecting the pillars
S&S', and in the uprights W & W. In order to secure the platforms
against sudden shocks, the rails Z, Z, & Z, Z' (see Fig. 5), are screwed to the
pillars S&S respectively at the top, two pins u being fixed into them at
either extremity, between which the uprights W & W' are guided, and thus
prevented from oscillating beyond a certain limit. The finger t, t, is applied
in a similar manner to that described with reference to Figs. 1 & 2.
Third construction.-Figs. 6 & 7 show another modification of a "double
platform weighing machine," in which the tables extend outwards instead of
inwards. This machine is in other respects similar to the one described with
reference to Figs. 5, 6, & 8, with the exception that the beam b, c, b', c¹, is
placed on the top of the pillars S & S¹. The tables T, T, & T', T', may be
fixed at any convenient height from the foundation blocks, but as the leverage
is in this case the reverso from that which obtains when the tables extend
inwards, the stay links p, q, and p', q', must be placed underneath instead of
above the connecting links m, n, and m³, n'. The mechanism, which secures
the system against accidental shocks, is the same as that described with rofer-
once to Time 10 & 8

page_text: Sheet 2 represents various modifications of " single platform weighing
machines," in which a new element which I call "lifting board" is introduced.
Fourth construction.-Fig. 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a ground plan of
such a machine; and Fig. 3 a section through the partition U, U, the foun-
dation blocks F, F¹, the upper part of the pillars S & S¹, and the axis a, a¹ of
the beam m, representing the knife edge of the connecting link, and p that
of the stay link as fixed in the partition U, U'; Figs. 4, 5, & 6, represent
various modifications of the "lifting board."
The beam c, b, 6' (see Fig. 2), is similar to that described with reference
to Sheet 1, Figs. 1, 2, & 3, and supported in the same manner on the two
pillars S&S. The "lifting board" K, K (see Figs. 1, 2, & 4), is a board
or metal plate of sufficient strength to be able to sustain the tension between
the beam and the platform, and of sufficient thickness to admit of being fitted
with metal plates of the requisite angular shape, which are inserted and secured
in the upper ends of the slots e & e', and whereby the board is suspended
from the knife edges b&b on the beam, as shown in Fig. 1. Two iron
bars x & x¹ are fixed by screws to and project from the platform T, T, (see
Fig. 1), into the slots & at the lower end of the lifting board (see Fig. 4),
whereby the connection between the beam and the platform is established.
The under side of the bars x & x³ forms a sharp edge, and the slots 1 & P
are lined below with metal plates of a suitable shape to serve as bearings
for the bars. The platform consists of the table T, T, and the upright
W, W, the two forming a compact body as in the machines previously
described, and its parallel motion is insured by the connecting link m, n, and
the stay link p, q (see Figs. 1 & 2). These two links are of equal length,
parallel to each other and to the beam, and it is advisable to place them in
one vertical plane; their centres of oscillation are fixed on the one hand in
the upright W, W', and on the other in the partition U, U' (see Figs. 2 & 3),
which latter is raised upon the foundation blocks F, F', and firmly attached
to the pillars S, S'. Two slots y & are cut into the "lifting board" (see
Fig. 4), to admit of the connecting and stay links passing them besides leaving
sufficient play for the vibration of the machine.
The lifting board, shown in Fig. 5, is intended to be suspended from one of
the bars or branches of the beam by means of the link e', e", and the lifting
board represented in Fig 6 is calculated to carry one side of the platform by
means of the link ", P. In both cases, however, either two connecting links
and one stay link, or two stay links and one connecting link, must be employed
as parallel motion pieces. The double links must be placed on each side of
and at equal distances from a vertical plane laid through the single link

page_text: longitudinally, and the lifting board must be provided with slots for the passage
of the links. Accordingly for the slot marked Z in Fig. 4 (and shown in
dotted lines in Fig. 5), the slots =" & must be substituted, and in Fig. 6
the slots y" and y' for that marked y in Fig. 4, and shown in dotted lines in
Fig. 6. The same kind of finger or indicator may be applied which has
already been described, and the arrangements for securing the platform against
accidental shocks may be made similar to those herein-before described and
referred to. The table T, T, may be fixed upon the upright W, W, and made
to reach, if thought desirable, either wholly or in part over the beam.
Double platform machines can be constructed upon the same principle, in
which case cach platform must be connected with a separate lifting board.
Fifth construction.-Fig. 7 is a sectional side elevation, and Fig. 8 a ground
plan of another modification of a "single platform weighing machine," Fig. 9
being a section through the pillar S, at right angles to the beam, and Fig. 10
showing the connecting link d, d', in detail.
On each of the two parallel foundation blocks F, F, and F, F', a pillar S, S,
and S', S', is erected, and the two blocks are connected by the partition U, U
(see Fig. 8).
The beam is divided into two parts c, a, d, and d', a', which are connected
by a link d, d' (see Fig. 7). Each of these parts is formed of one undivided
bar, the part c, a, d, being (what is termed in mechanics) a lever of the first
order, with its fulcrum on the top of the pillar S, S, and its arm a, c, pro-
jecting beyond the machine and provided with a knife edge at c for the
suspension of a scale; instead of which, however, a sliding weight may be
substituted. The short arm a, d, of this lever is fitted with two knife edges,
onc at b, and the other at d, placed at right angles to the direction of its
length. From the knife 6 the lifting board K, K', is suspended by means of
the link b, e, e, whilst the knife & supports, by means of the link d, d¹ (sce
also Fig. 10), the second bar, which is (what is termed in mechanics) a lever
of the second order, and has its fulcrum on the top of the shorter pillar S, S'.
A knife edge b' is fitted to this second beam, from which the other end of the
lifting board K, K, is suspended by another connecting link. To secure the
parallel motion of the lifting board which is thus suspended from the two
beams, we must have the proportion a', 6', a¹, da, b, a, d. The slots
1&1, which are cut in the lifting board, are intended to receive the iron
bars &', which are secured to and project from the platform (see Figs.
7 & 8), and by which, as described with reference to Figs. 1 & 2, the con-
nection between the platform and the lifting board is established. Tho
platform consists in this instance also of the table T, T, and the upright W, W,

page_text: and its parallel motion is secured by two stay links p, q, and p', q' (sec
Figs. 8 & 9), and one connecting link m, n. These stays are of equal length,
parallel to each other, and have their centres of oscillation in the upright
W, W, and the partition U, U¹.
Sixth construction.-Fig. 11 is a front view of a "double platform
weighing machine," similar to the one just described.
Three pillars are fixed in a straight line in the foundation frame F, F. The
beam c, c', has its fulcrum on the top of the central pillar, whilst the fulcrum
of the beam d', f', is on one, and that of the beam d, f, on the other of the
short pillars. The lifting boards K, K, and K', K¹, are suspended from the
beams, in the manner described with reference to Figs. 7, 8, & 9; the
connection between the platforms and the lifting boards is the same, and
all the other arrangements are similar and need not therefore be again
described.
In conclusion, I wish to observe with regard to the whole of the weighing
machines, herein-before described, that, wherever moveable parts, such as the
stay and connecting links, the links which support the lifting board, &c. are
in contact with each other, the one is made edge-shaped and of steel, and the
other consists of a plate of hardened metal.
As regards the material, the beam and the links are intended to be made
either of iron or steel, whilst the foundation frame and the platform may be
made either of wood, or of iron, or any other suitable metal.
As the machines can be made of almost any size, no scale could bo
given.
Having now described the nature of this Invention, and various modes
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not mean to
confine myself to the identical combinations or arrangements, herein-beforc
shown and described; but what I claim as the Invention, intended to bo
secured to me by the above in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
Firstly, the suspending the platform either from a simple fork-shaped beam,
in the peculiar manner shown and described with reference to Sheet 1 of
Drawings, Figs. 1, 2, & 3, and to Sheet 2 of Drawings, Figs. 1, 2, & 8, or
from a double beam, as shown and described with reference to Sheet 1 of
Drawings, Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8.
Secondly, the suspending the platform from a compound beam, in the
peculiar manner shown and described with reference to Sheet 2 of Drawings,
Figs. 7, 8, 9, & 11.
Thirdly, the application of the parallel motion pieces in combination with
the peculiar method of suspending the platform from the beam, in the manner

page_text: and for the purposes described with reference to Sheet 1 of Drawings, Figs.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7, and with reference to Sheet 2 of Drawings, Figs.
1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 & 11.
In witness whereof, I, the said Julius Schönemann, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
JULIUS SCHÖNEMANN. (LS.)