CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WEIGHING MACHINES AND WEIGHING CRANES
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
JAMES, of Leadenhall Street, in the City of London, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Ninth day of September,
in the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John James, Her especial license, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John James, my exors, admors,
or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also within the Islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WEIGHING
MACHINES AND WEIGHING CRANES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso obliging me, the said John James, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery

page_text: within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John James, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in wha
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer
tained in and by this present Instrument in writing, as follows, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates,-
Firstly, to improvements in the construction of platform weighing machines.
Secondly, to an improved construction of steelyard support or frame, more
particularly adapted to the weighing of sacks of flour, and to roots and other
agricultural productions.
Thirdly, to the improvements in the construction of steelyards whereby a
greater degree of accuracy may be obtained than by those of the ordinary
construction.
And in order that my Invention may be properly understood, I shall now
proceed to describe the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
attached.
Figure 1 of my Drawings is a vertical section of my improved platform
machine, taken along the line A, B, in Figure 2; Figure 2 is a corresponding
plan, with a portion of the cast-iron covering broken away in order more
clearly to shew the working parts of the machine; Figure 3 is a vertical
section along the line C, D, in Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a sectional detail,
on a larger scale, of a portion of the steelyard apparatus of this machine.
The rest of the Figures come under different heads of my Invention, and will
be referred to herein-after. A is the supporting platform which is carried by
the two cast-iron girders B, B. These girders have projecting lugs C, C, cast
upon their under sides, which lugs are slightly V-grooved, and rest upon the
steel knife edges or pivots D, D, carried by the short bent lever arms E, E,
cast on the hollow beams or tubes F, F. The tubes F are fitted with steel
knife-edged centres or pivots G, G, which rest upon the V-grooved bracket
supports H, H. I, I, are somewhat similar supports cast in one piece with
the supports H, H, and serve as rests for the ends of the girders when the
machine is not in use. An arm J is cast on the under side of each of the
hollow beams, near the lower extremity of which is fitted a knife-edged steel
pivot K.
A connecting rod L connects these two armis, the straps at its
extremities being slipped over 'the steel centres in the lever arms J. Similar
arms M, M, are cast on to the upper surface of the hollow beams, and are

page_text: also fitted with steel or knife-edged pivots N, N., O, O, are cast-iron rods,
with V-grooved ends, which connect the corresponding opposite arms M, by
being fitted in between their respective knife-edged centres.
In Figure 2, the ends of the two girders and one of the hollow beams
has been broken away to shew more distinctly the fixed bracket sup-
ports H and I, and also one of the knife-edged bearing points D carried by
'the bent arms E.
.
In Figure 3, the upper portion of one of the brackets I is broken off to
shew the mode of supporting the ends of the hollow beams F. In order to
prevent the girders from longitudinal jarring or displacement, they are tied by
the rods P to the fixed brackets I, I, a slight play being given to the rods to
allow of the ascent and descent of the platform. The girders are retained in
their proper position laterally by the transverse tie rods Q, Q. The long
weighing beam R is bolted to a lug at S, on one of the hollow beams, and is
fitted at its free end with a steel pivot T. To this pivot is hooked the lower
end of the long link U, which is similarly attached.at its upper extremity to
à steel pivot V, on the end of the steelyard. The weight and steelyard, with
the mechanism for elevating the same, are carried by the cast-iron pillar and
bracket W.
One of the improvements in this portion of my Invention consists in
elevation both ends of the steelyard simultaneously when the machine is to be
brought into gear. It will be obvious to a person conversant with this kind
of mechanism that various arrangements may be adopted for effecting this
purpose, but the one I have shewn in my Drawings I consider the most
simple and practicable. I may here observe that the pillar and bracket is
turned round at a right angle to its proper position in order to shew its con-
struction more distinctly. The elevation of the steelyard and platform is
effected by the hand wheel X, which works loosely on a stud centre in the
side of the pillar. On the boss of this wheel is cast a small bevil wheel Y
keyed on to the end of the shaft Z. This shaft works in the fixed bearings a, a,.
cast on the pillar and bracket, and is fitted at its outer end with a spur
pinion b, which gears into the teeth of the vertical rack c. The upper end of.
this rack is flattened, and has a slot formed in it through which is passed the
outer end of the steelyard. Another pinion D, of the same diameter as the
one last referred to, is keyed on to the shaft Z, and gears into the vertical
rack e.
This rack is cast in one piece with the capf of the pillar, and conse-
quently as the rack ascends the cap f will rise with it. The cap is open on
one side to admit the end of the steelyard into the interior of the pillar, and
on each side of this opening is fitted a V-grooved steel bearing piece g..

page_text: These pieces serve as rests for the steel pivots h, forming the fulcra
of the steelyard. The periphery of the bevil wheel Y is grooved to receive
a chain and counterweight j, one end of the chain being secured to the
periphery of the wheel. This counterweight is to balance the weight of
the platform, and thus facilitate its elevation when requisite. The steelyard
is composed of two bars k and I, the one marked k representing tons, and that
lettered indicating hundredweights. Both these denominations are read off
by pointers or indicators attached to the respective weights on to one scale,
which consists of a T-shaped bar m, attached at its ends to the steelyard by
small stud pillars and bolts. n is an indicator attached to the end of the
steelyard, to shew whether the machine is in or out of gear, which will be
clearly indicated by the difference in height at which the indicator stands with.
regard to the head of the rack c. The large ton weight o is fitted with a
scale and small weight p on its upper surface. This weight indicates pounds.
The tare weight q is shewn in dotted lines, and is contained inside the body of
the large ton weight. r is a screw which passes through the centre of the
tare weight, so that by turning the milled heads the tare may be adjusted
to any required degree of accuracy. I construct the large weights with only one
running wheel, and when the weight is to be traversed along its steelyard, the
handle t, which is secured to the upper surface of the weight, is first raised
sufficiently to release the small catch beneath it from its notch, when the
weight may be run on its wheel to any required notch in the steelyard. By
this arrangement the friction and wear of hanging weights is entirely obviated.
In order to raise the platform from its rests I, the hand-wheel X is turned by
the winch handle attached to it; this turns the pinions b and d, and conse-
quently elevates the cap f and outer end of the steelyard simultaneously. This
of course draws up the free end of the weighing beam R, and raises the platform
off its bearings. By the time a sufficient elevation has been obtained, which
will be effected in about four revolutions of the hand wheel, a catch in the
side of the cap has attained a sufficient beight to lay hold of a pin in the side
of the hand wheel, holding it fixed in the proper position, and retaining the
platform elevated. A weight on any part of the platform will be equally
distributed over the whole surface, being transmitted through the entire
platform along the hollow beams and connecting rods or bars L and N, N,
and thence to the large weighing beam R.
Figure 5 on the Sheet of my Drawings illustrates the second portion of my.
Invention, and represents an improved form of standard or steelyard support.
The head of the standard A is made to overhang considerably beyond the
stem B, thereby allowing sufficient space for the suspension of large boudies,

page_text: such as sacks of flour and potatoes, without coming in contact with the side of
the standard. A support of this kind is of a very simple construction, and
consists merely of a rectangular bar of wrought iron to form the vertical
standard, the base being made by simply bending the lower end of the bar
into a circle, or any other suitable shape, large enough to form a steady.
bearing for the whole apparatus; the pivot from which the weight is suspended
should, however, be in the same vertical line with the centre of the base of the
standard.
The third portion of my Invention, which relates to a novel arrangement
of steelyard, is shewn at Figure 6 of the Drawings. These improvements
consist in the employment of two distinct steelyards A, B, for indicating two
separate denominations of weights; for example, one steelyard may serve to
indicate hundredweights, and the other quarters and pounds. By this means
heavy steelyard weighing machines may be made to indicate small weights
with greater accuracy than can be obiained by steelyards of the ordinary
construction. By another arrangement one steelyard bar may be made to
answer the same purpose, by making it rather deeper than usual, and
graduating both the upper and lower edge, and using a separate weight for
each; thus the upper edge may indicate hundredweights, and the lower edge
quarters and pounds. By dividing the steelyards in this manner greater
space is afforded for the notches, consequently a greater number may be
inserted, and therefore greater nicety of reading is obtained.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my Invention; but what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of platform weighing
machines, as herein-before described in reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of
the Drawings.
Second, the application and use of the hollow tubes or beams F, F, in
combination with the levers or arms marked E, J, and M, for collecting the
weight to one point from all the four corners of the platform, as herein-before
described and illustrated in my Sheet of Drawings.
Third, the application and use of the connecting rods or bars L and O,

page_text: in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described and shewn in my
Drawings.
Fourth, the system or mode of elevating the platform from its bearing
surfaces, whereby both ends of the steelyard are raised equally and simul-
taneously, as herein-before described.
Fifth, the application and use of the catch for retaining the elevating
mechanism when the platform has been sufficiently raised, as hercin-before
described.
Sixth, the system or mode of indicating the pounds by a small weight and
scale attached to the surface of the large ton weight, as herein-before
described.
Seventh, the peculiar arrangement of tare weight as herein-before described.
Eighth, the peculiar construction of steelyard standards, as herein-before
described in reference to Figures 5 of the Drawings.
Ninth, the application and use of the compound steelyard herein-before
described in reference to Figure 6 of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John James, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Ninth day of March, One thousand eight hundred and