Improvements in Weighing Machines.
Year: 1888

page_text: Improvements in Weighing Machines.
I JOHN QUINCY PREBLE, President of The National Weighing Machine Company
of No. 320 Broadway, New York, United States of America 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 :-
This invention relates to that class of weighing machines in which, when they are
at rest, or nothing is placed upon them to be weighed, are automatically locked with
the index at zero, and which require to be unlocked before weighing can be performed,
sach weighing machines being generally intended to be unlocked by a coin deposited
in the machine as a weighing fee.
One object of this invention is to provide, in a more simple manner than heretofore,
both for the locking of the scale with the index at zero, and for the prevention of the
repetition of the weighing after the scale has been once unlocked, and before its index
has been again locked at zero and again unlocked.
In carrying out this invention, there is employed generally for arresting the con-
nection between the platform and index at the position to which it has been brought
in weighing, an automatic arresting device, and a motor independent of the weighing
machinery for controlling the operation of said arresting device, substantially such as
constitute an essential part of the invention which is the subject of British Letters
Patent No. 1677, dated February 2nd 1887, granted to Henry Edward Newton on a
communication from Mary Elizabeth Bennett, but certain new combinations are made,
including the said arresting device and motor, and the connection between the plat-
form and index of the machine, whereby it is possible to use the same arresting device
for locking the scale at zero, thereby dispensing with a separate stop for the latter
purpose, and it is in these new combinations, hereinafter described and claimed, that
this invention consists :-
Fig. in the accompanying drawing represents a front elevation of a weighing
machine having this invention applied, the front door of the casing being omitted
to expose parts of the internal mechanism to view.
Fig. 2 represents an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1, mostly in section.
Fig. 3 is a back view, on a larger scale, of the arresting device for locking the
machine when at rest, and for arresting it in the condition to which it has been

page_text: brought in weighing, and of the mechanism for throwing said arresting device into
and out of operation.
Fig. 4 is a side view corresponding with Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a front view of the coin duct, and the device upon which the coin
directly acts to produce the unlocking of the machine, the front plate of the duct
being broken away to show the interior.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several Figures.
Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, A designates the base of the machine, and B an
open column erected thereon to support. the box C, which contains the indicating
mechanism, and which has in front of it the dial C, the said column, box, and
indicating mechanism, being all enclosed within a case A, which is also erected
on the base A, and in front of which there is a glazed opening a', through which
the dial C and index a are visible.
D designates the rod which forms the connection between the indicating
mechanism and the platform lever E in the base of the scale, the upper end of
the said rod being furnished with a cross head, to which is attached a rack b
gearing with a pinion d on the arbor of the index a, the said crosshead also
having applied to it the springs dd, by which the platform and its load are
counterbalanced.
°
As thus far described, the drawings represent well known form of platform
weighing machine, to which, as well as to any other kind, may be applied the
present invention, which will now be described in detail.
Referring next to Figs. 3 and 4, I, I, designate the two dogs which constitute
the automatic arresting device which acts upon the rod or connection, D. both to
lock the weighing machine at zero, and to arrest it in any position to which it is
brought by the load which is weighed. These dogs resemble those described in the
British Patent to Henry Edward Newton hereinbefore referred to. They are
arranged on opposite sides of the rod D), where they are pivotted at ii to the small
frame J, which is bolted to the column B, and to which is secured the motor tt, uu,
which will presently be described, and the mechanism which is employed in combina-
tion with said motor to control the operation of the said dogs. The parts of the rod
which the said dogs engage, are represented in Fig. 3 as serrated, to facilitate the
engagement, which will always take place, as shewn in Fig. 3, whenever the said dogs
are left free by reason of the portions of the said dogs above the pivots being heavier
than the tail pieces ¹¹, or portions thereof below the said pivois.
G designates a lever fulcrummed to the frame J at 1, to be operated by the
motor t, u, as will be presently described. for the purpose of disengaging the
dogs, I, I, from the rod D at the time of weighing.-The said disengaging lever G is
furnished with two pius or projections 1, which occupy positions outside of the tail
pieces ¹¹ of the dogs, and it is so loaded at the end G, that when it is free, the said
pins press against the tail pieces of the dogs in such manner as to produce and
maintain their disengagement from the rod. The object of the motor is to lift the
loaded end of this lever G after every weighing operation, and thereby to allow the
dogs II to come into engagement with the rod 1, and lock the machine. This lifting
operation is performed by means of its connection, by a cord or chain m', with a little
windlass m, the axle m² of which works in a bearing in the frame J, and which is
furnished with a ratchet wheel m³, which derives motion from the motor through a
pawl o, as will now be explained.
The motor is represented as consisting of a small frame t t, containing springs u u,
like those of a clock movement, and suitable gearing and mechanism which need only
be described so far as to say that a fast moving spindle p is furnished with a crank
wrist p', and a faster moving spindle his furnished with a fly and a friction brake
dise The crank wrist p' engages with a slot in the lower end of a lever n which
hangs on a pin n¹ secured in the frame, and to which is attached the windlass operating
pawl hereinbefore described. A retaining pawf pivotted to the frame J by a
pivot q, is also applied to the said ratchet wheel m³, and to the said pivot there is
secured a lever arm q, which is employed to lift the said pawl and disengage the

page_text: ratchet wheel. This lever army is connected by a rod g (see Figs. 1, 3, 4) with the
shorter arm of the tumbler-lever r, which works freely in the coin chute K, k of the
machine on a fulcrum pin ¹, and upon the longer arm of which the weight of
the coin acts to produce the liberation of the windlass m from the retaining pawl.
The ratchet wheel m³ of the windlass has rigidly attached to it an arm m, which,
when the windlass is disengaged or liberated, stops against a pin m³ fast in the motor
frame t t, and the said ratchet wheel has also secured in, or provided on it, a pin or
projection e, for the purpose of lifting the lower arm of an elbow-lever c', which works on
a fulcrum c in the frame 3, and the upper arm of which operates to lift the loaded lever
arme of the friction brake, the spindle a of which works in bearings in the frame it,
and the shoe e³ of which is caused, by being thus lifted, to press upon the edge of the
dise 2 on the fly spindle with sufficient force to stop the motor, this friction stop being
preferable to a more positive stop, as it will better prevent the binding of any of the
mechanism which might occur with a positive and suddenly operating stop.
The elbow lever, except while subject to the operation of the pin c on the ratchet
wheel, rests on a hub c³, provided on the frame J, to contain the bearing of the
windlass shaft m².
The coin chute K, & (see Figs. 1, 2, 5) is represented as composed of an upright
grooved plate K. having in it a groove 8, of a depth and width sufficient for the
passage of the coin, and a covering plate k, which may be attached to the said grooved
plate in any way that will afford convenient access to the groove or coin channel 8,
and to the tumbler lever therein. This plate is partly omitted in Fig. 5, to
expose the interior to view.-The upper part of the chute is curved forwards, as shewn
at 9 in Fig. 2, to bring its mouth 11 close to the horizontal slit provided in the front
of the casing A' for the insertion of the coin.
Having so far described the details of the mechanism, the operation of weighing
will now be described, first mentioning that the motor must always be kept wound.
In the normal condition of the scale, that is to say, when it is unloaded, the motor
is stopped by the friction brake or stop h² e, and the windlass m is retained by
its retaining pawl with the cord or chain m wound up; and the loaded lever G
is held, as shown in Fig. 3, with its pins clear of the tail pieces of
the dogs II; and the latter then engaging with the rod D, prevent the latter from
descending, and thereby lock the scale, and prevent the weighing until it is unlocked
by the insertion of the coin.
When the coin is inserted at f, it passes down the chute K, k, till it reaches the
tumbler 1",
the latter being in the normal position shown in bold outline in Fig. 5.-
The weight of the coin s instantly depresses the long arm of the tumbler lever 7, as
shown in dotted outlines in Fig. 5, and causes the shorter arm of the said lever, and
the attached rod g, to rise, and thereby to lift the arm q² of the windlass retaining
pawl g, and so lift the said pawl, which in its turn lifts the winding pawl, being
situated immediately below the latter. The windlass being thus liberated, the loaded
end G of the lever G is allowed to drop, and by the movement of that lever, its
pins are caused to pass the tail pieces of the dogs II, towards each other,
and throw the dogs out from the rod.-The dropping of the loaded lever turns back
the windlass, and as the windlass turns back, the pin or projection c on its ratchet
wheel moves away from the elbow lever c¹, and thus allows the said lever to move
away from the loaded lever arm e' of the friction brake or stop, and so allows the
said loaded arin to drop and throw off the brake shoe e from the disc h on the fly
spindle, and thereby to liberate the motor.
The machine now being unlocked, the person or body to be weighed gets or is
placed on the platform, and the rod D is caused to operate the index as in an ordinary
scale. The windlass makes less than a whole revolution backward under the influence
of the loaded lever, and is then dropped by its arm m' coming against the stop pin m³.-—
The time which the dogs remain disengaged is however very short, for the coin, after
depressing the tumbler lever 1, quickly rolls down the said lever, and out of the
opening at 10 in the lower part of the chute, whence it is collected through a con-
ductor 10* into a box 12, or passes off in any way to a suitable receptacle.-After the

page_text: coin leaves the long arm of the tumbler lever », the latter is returned to its normal
position by the weight of the rod g, and parts therewith connected, and the pawls are
allowed to fall into gear with the ratchet wheel of the windlass, so that the motor
again turns the windlass in the direction to draw up the loaded end of the lever G,
and release the dogs from the pins on said lever, and so leave them free to fall
back again into contact with the rod D.-The dogs remain thus in contact with the
rod while the load remains on the scale, and after the removal of the load, allowing
the rod to rise freely after the removal of the load, but preventing the possibility of
the descent of the rod to repeat the weighing until another coin has been inserted at f
to produce the disengagement of the windlass from the motor, and permit the loaded
lever G to again throw them out from the rod.
It will thus be understood that one person cannot get off the platform and permit
another to be weighed without again unlocking the machine by a coin. Not only is
this the case, but it is impossible to weigh a second person, whether heavier or lighter,
than the first, who gets on the platform before the first gets off, for the additional
weight of the second will produce a further descent of the platform, and carry the
index to a position to indicate the sum of the weight of the two, and if one should get
off ever so gently, the very lively recoil of the counterbalancing spring d cannot fail
to bring back the platform and index to positions beyond those due to the weight of
the person remaining on the platform. On the subsidence of the action of the recoil,
the descent of the platform due to the weight of the person on it, would be prevented
by the action of the dogs II on the rod D, for although these dogs permit the free
upward movement of the rod, they most effectually prevent any downward movement.
I am aware of Everitts specification No. 16433 A.D. 1884 and Salter's specification
No. 6983 A.D. 1886, and I do not claim anything therein described and claimed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The combination in a weighing machine, with the platform and index and a
connection between them, of an automatic arresting device for arresting said connection
both at the zero position and in the position to which it is brought in weighing, a motor
for controlling the operating of said arresting device, a stop for said motor, a tumbler
or lever for receiving a coin and a connection between said tumbler and stop, all
substantially as herein described, for effecting the temporary liberation of the motor,
to permit the temporary disengagement of said arresting device by the weight of the
coin as herein set forth.
2. The combination of the connecting rod D, the dogs I I, the loaded disengaging
lever G, the windlass m, and chain or cord m¹ for operating said lever, a motor for
operating said windlass, a stop for said motor, the tumbler lever for receiving the
coin and connections, substantially as herein described, between said tumbler lever
and the said stop and motor, whereby the weight of the coin is made to liberate the
windlass from the motor and disengage the motor from its stop; all substantially as
herein set forth.
3. The combination with the connecting rod D, the arresting dogs II, the loaded
disengaging lever G, the cord or chain m¹, the windlass m and its ratchet wheel m³
and stop pawl q, a motor furnished with a pawl o for operating said windlass, the
tumbler-lever for receiving the weight of a coin, the connection g between the
tumbler-lever and the pawl o, whereby the pawls q and o are caused to be removed
from the ratchet wheel by the weight of the coin, substantially as herein described.
Dated this 10th day of Annil 1889
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I JOHN QUINCY PREBLE, President of The National Weighing Machino Company
of No. 320 Broadway, New York, United States of America 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 :-
This invention relates to that class of weighing machines in which, when they are
at rest, or nothing is placed upon them to be weighed, are automatically locked with
the index at zero, and which require to be unlocked before weighing can be performed,
such weighing machines being generally intended to be unlocked by a coin deposited
in the machine as a weighing fee.
One object of this invention is to provide, in a more simple manner than heretofore,
both for the locking of the scale with the index at zero, and for the prevention of the
repetition of the weighing after the scale has been once unlocked, and before its indox
has been again locked at zero and again unlocked.
In carrying out this invention, there is employed generally for arresting the con-
nection between the platform and index at the position to which it has been brought
in weighing, an automatic arresting device, and a motor independent of the weighing
machinery for controlling the operation of said arresting device, substantially such as
constitute an essential part of the invention which is the subject of British Letters
Patent No. 1677, dated February 2nd 1887, granted to Henry Edward Newton on a
communication from Mary Elizabeth Bennett, but certain new combinations are.made,
including the said arresting device and motor, and the connection between the plat-
form and index of the machine, whereby, it is possible to use the same arresting device
for locking the scale at zero, thereby dispensing with a separate stop for the latter
purpose, and it is in these new combinations, hereinafter described and claimed, that
this invention consists :-
Fig. 1 in the accompanying drawing represents a front elevation of a weighing
machine having this invention applied, the front door of the casing being omitted
to expose parts of the internal mechanism to view.
Fig. 2 represents an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1, mostly in section.
Fig. 3 is a back view, on a larger scale, of the arresting device for locking the
machine when at rest, and for arresting it in the condition to which it has been

page_text: brought in weighing, and of the mechanism for throwing said arresting device into
and out of operation.
Fig. 4 is a side view corresponding with Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a front view of the coin duct, and the device upon which the coin
directly acts to produce the unlocking of the machine, the front plate of the duct
being broken away to show the interior.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several Figures.
Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, A designates the base of the machine, and B an
open column erected thereon to support the box C₁, which contains the indicating
mechanism, and which has in front of it the dial C, the said column, box, and
indicating mechanism, being all enclosed within a case A¹, which is also erected
on the base A, and in front of which there is a glazed opening a', through which
the dial and index a are-visible.
D designates the rod which forms the connection between the indicating
mechanism and the platform lever E in the base of the scale, the upper end of
the said rod being furnished with a cross head 6, to which is attached a rack b
gearing with a pinion on the arbor of the index a, the said crosshead also
having applied to it the springs dd, by which the platform and its load are
counterbalanced.
As thus far described, the drawings represent a well known form of platform
weighing machine, to which, as well as to any other kind, may be applied the
present invention, which will now be described in detail.
Referring next to Figs. 3 and 4, I, I, designate the two dogs which constitute
the automatic arresting device which acts upon the rod or connection, D, both to
lock the weighing machine at zero, and to arrest it in any position to which it is
brought by the load which is weighed. These dogs resemble those described in the
British Patent to Henry Edward Newton herein before referred to. They are
arranged on opposite sides of the rod D, where they are pivotted at i'i to the small
frame J, which is bolted to the column B, and to which is secured the motor tt, u u,
,which will presently be described, and the mechanism which is employed in combina-
tion with said motor to control the operation of the said dogs. The parts of the rod
which the said dogs engage, are represented in Fig. 3 as serrated, to facilitate the
'engagement, which will always take place, as shewn in Fig. 3, whenever the said dogs
are left free by reason of the portions of the said dogs above the pivots being heavier
than the tail pieces, or portions thereof below the said pivots.
: G designates a lever fulcrummed to the frame J at 1, to be operated by the
motor tt, uu, as will be presently described, for the purpose of disengaging the
dogs, I, I, from the rod D at the time of weighing.-The said disengaging lever G is
furnished with two pins or projections, which occupy positions outside of the tail
pieces of the dogs, and it is so loaded at the end G¹, that when it is free, the said
pins press against the tail pieces ii of the dogs in such manner as to produce and
maintain their disengagement from the rod. The object of the motor is to lift the
loaded end of this lever G after every weighing operation, and thereby to allow the
dogs II to come into engagement with the rod D, and lock the machine. This lifting
operation is performed by means of its connection, by a cord or chain m³, with a little
wincess m, the axle m² of which works in a bearing in the frame J, and which is
furnished with a ratchet wheel m³, which derives motion from the motor through a
.pawl o, as will now be explained.
The motor is represented as consisting of a small frame it, containing springs uu,
like those of a clock movement, and suitable gearing and mechanism which need only
be described so far as to say that a fast moving spindle p is furnished with a crank
wrist p', and a faster moving spindle his furnished with a fly hand a friction brake
disc The crank wrist p engages with a slot in the lower end of a lever n which
hangs on a pin n¹ secured in the frame, and to which is attached the windlass operating
pawl o herein before described. A retaining pawl g pivotted to the frame J by a
pivot q, is also applied to the said ratchet wheel m³, and to the said pivot there is
secured a lever arm 92, which is employed to lift the said pawl and disengage the

page_text: ratchet wheel. This lever armi q is connected by a rod g (see Figs. 1, 3, 4) with the
shorter arm of the tumbler-lever r, which works freely in the coin chute K, of the
machine on a fulcrum pin, and upon the longer arm of which the weight of
the coin acts to produce the liberation of the windlass m from the retaining pawl.
The ratchet wheel m³ of the windlass has rigidly attached to it an arm m', which,
when the windlass is disengaged or liberated, stops against a pin me fast in the motor
frame tt, and the said ratchet wheel has also secured in, or provided on it, a pin or
projection c, for the purpose of lifting the lower arm of an elbow-lever c¹, which works on
a fulcrum c in the frame J, and the upper arm of which operates to lift the loaded lever
arme of the friction brake, the spindle e of which works in bearings in the frame tt,
and the shoe e of which is caused, by being thus lifted, to press upon the edge of the
disc on the fly spindle h with sufficient force to stop the motor, this friction stop being
preferable to a more positive stop, as it will better prevent the binding of any of the
mechanism which might occur with a positive and suddenly operating stop.
The elbow lever, except while subject to the operation of the pin c on the ratchet
wheel, rests on a hub 3, provided on the frame J, to contain the bearing of the
windlass shaft m².
The coin chute K, & (see Figs. 1, 2, 5) is represented as composed of an upright
grooved plate K, having in it a groove 8, of a depth and width sufficient for the
passage of the coin, and a covering plate k, which may be attached to the said grooved
plate in any way that will afford convenient access to the groove or coin channel S,
and to the tumbler lever therein. This plate is partly omitted in Fig. 5, to
expose the interior to view.-The upper part of the chute is curved forwards, as shewn
at 9 in Fig. 2, to bring its mouth 11 close to the horizontal slit ƒ provided in the front
of the casing A¹ for the insertion of the coin.
Having so far described the details of the mechanism, the operation of weighing
will now be described, first mentioning that the motor must always be kept wound.
In the normal condition of the scale, that is to say, when it is unloaded, the motor
is stopped by the friction brake or stop ²², and the windlass mis retained by
its retaining pawl q with the cord or chain m wound up; and the loaded lever G
is held, as shown in Fig. 3, with its pins clear of the tail pieces of
the dogs II; and the latter then engaging with the rod D, prevent the latter from
descending, and thereby lock the scale, and prevent the weighing until it is unlocked
by the insertion of the coin.
When the coin is inserted at f, it passes down the chute K, k, till it reaches the
tumbler the latter being in the normal position shown in bold outline in Fig. 5.—
The weight of the coins instantly depresses the long arm of the tumbler lever, as
shown in dotted outlines in Fig. 5, and causes the shorter arm of the said lever, and
the attached rod g, to rise, and thereby to lift the arm 2 of the windlass retaining
pawly, and so lift the said pawl, which in its turn lifts the winding pawl, being
situated immediately below the latter. The windlass being thus liberated, the loaded
end G of the lever G is allowed to drop, and by the movement of that lever, its
pins are caused to pass the tail pieces of the dogs II, towards each other,
and throw the dogs out from the rod. The dropping of the loaded lever turns back
the windlass, and as the windlass turns back, the pin or projection on its ratchet
wheel moves away from the elbow lever c', and thus allows the said lever to move
away from the. loaded lever arm e¹ of the friction brake or stop, and so allows the
said loaded arm to drop and throw off the brake shoe e² from the disc /² on the fly
spindle, and thereby to liberate the motor.
The machine now being unlocked, the person or body to be weighed gets or is
placed on the platform, and the rod D is caused to operate the index as in an ordinary
scale. The windlass makes less than a whole revolution backward under the influence
of the loaded lever, and is then dropped by its arm m³ coming against the stop pin m³.-
The time which the dogs remain disengaged is however very short, for the coin, after
depressing the tumbler lever 1, quickly rolls down the said lever, and out of the
opening at 10 in the lower part of the chute, whence it is collected through a con_
ductor 10* into a box 12, or passes off in any way to a suitable receptacle.-After the

page_text: coin leaves the long arm of the tumbler lever, the latter is returned to its normal
position by the weight of the rod g, and parts therewith connected, and the pawls are
allowed to fall into gear with the ratchet wheel of the windlass, so that the motor
again turns the windlass in the direction to draw up the loaded end of the lever G,
and release the dogs from the pins llon said lever, and so leave them free to fall
back again into contact with the rod D.-The dogs remain thus in contact with the
rod while the load remains on the scale, and after the removal of the load, allowing
the rod to rise freely after the removal of the load, but preventing the possibility of
the descent of the rod to repeat the weighing until another coin has been inserted at f
to produce the disengagement of the windlass from the motor, and permit the loaded
lever G to again throw them out from the rod.
It will thus be understood that one person cannot get off the platform and permit
another to be weighed without again unlocking the machine by a coin. Not only is
this the case, but it is impossible to weigh a second person, whether heavier or lighter,
than the first, who gets on the platform before the first gets off, for the additional
weight of the second will produce a further descent of the platform, and carry the
index to a position to indicate the sum of the weight of the two, and if one should get
off ever so gently, the very lively recoil of the counterbalancing spring d cannot fail
to bring back the platform and index to positions beyond those due to the weight of
the person remaining on the platform.-On the subsidence of the action of the recoil,
the descent of the platform due to the weight of the person on it, would be prevented
by the action of the dogs II on the rod D, for although these dogs permit the free
upward movement of the rod, they most effectually prevent any downward movement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination in a weighing machine, with the platform and index and a
connection between them, of an automatic arresting device for arresting said connection
both at the zero position and in the position to which it is brought in weighing, a motor
for controlling the operating of said arresting device, a stop for said motor, a tumbler
or lever for receiving a coin and a connection between said tumbler and stop, all
substantially as herein described, for effecting the temporary liberation of the motor,
to permit the temporary disengagement of said arresting device by the weight of the
coin; as herein set forth.
2. The combination of the connecting rod D, the dogs 1 1, the loaded disengaging
lever G, the windlass m, and chain or cord m³ for operating said lever, a motor for
operating said windlass, a stop for said motor, the tumbler lever r for receiving the
coin and connections, substantially as herein described, between said tumbler lever
and the said stop and motor, whereby the weight of the coin is made to liberate the
windlass from the motor and disengage the motor from its stop; all substantially as
herein set forth.
3. The combination with the connecting rod D, the arresting dogs II, the loaded
disengaging lever G, the cord or chain m³, the windlass m and its ratchet wheel m³
and stop pawl 7, a motor furnished with a pawl o for operating said windlass, the
tumbler-lever for receiving the weight of a coin, the connection between the
tumbler-lever and the pawl o, whereby the pawls q and o are caused to be removed
from the ratchet wheel by the weight of the coin, substantially as herein described.
Dated this 10th day of April 1888
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.