IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING AND Measuring Quantities and REGISTÈRING THE SAME.”
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Lyon, of the City of Manchester, Manager
of Gas Works, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
WEIGHING AND Measuring Quantities and REGISTÈRING THE SAME.”
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Lyon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th November 1870.
I, HENRY LYON, of the City of Manchester, Manager of Gas Works,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING AND MEASURING QUANTITIES AND REGISTERING THE
SAME," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is the construction of an apparatus or
arrangement of mechanism for weighing and also for measuring solids
or liquids with greater facility than has hitherto been practised, and
further to indicate upon a dial plate the quantity which has been weighed
or measured in a given period.

page_text: Now as applied to apparatus for weighing this Invention consists in
mounting a suitable receptacle (to contain the material to be weighed)
in connection with a scale beam, such receptacle being capable of turning
completely round in one direction only for the purpose of emptying its
contents, and every revolution of such receptacle being indicated upon a
dial plate by connecting one of the pivots or trunions of such revolving
receptacle with a train of indicating wheelwork, which thus produces a
record of the exact quantity weighed in a given period.
My improvements in apparatus for measuring quantities consist in
mounting a measure, say, for instance, a bushel measure, upon a shaft
working in bearings in connection with a train of indicating wheelwork.
This shaft is prevented turning except in one direction, so that when the
measure is tilted for the purpose of emptying its contents such measure
is compelled to turn completely round with the shaft before it can be
refilled, every revolution of such shaft causing the indicating wheelwork to
revolve and the number of revolutions of such shaft being indicated by
an index finger or fingers upon a dial plate, which thereby indicates the
exact quantity measured in a given period.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Lyon in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th May 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
LYON, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Manager.
of Gas Works, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Henry Lyon, Her special licence that
I, the said Henry Lyon, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Henry Lyon, my exccutors, adminis-
trators, 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, usc, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel

page_text: Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR WEIGHING AND MEASURING QUANTITIES AND REGISTERING THE SAME," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry Lyon, 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 Henry Lyon, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 :—
The object of this Invention is the construction of an apparatus or
arrangement of mechanism for weighing and also for measuring solids
or liquids with greater facility than has hitherto been practised, and
further to indicate upon dial plates the quantity which has been weighed
or measured in a given period..
Now as applied to apparatus for weighing this Invention consists in
mounting a suitable receptacle (to contain the material to be weighed)
in connection with a scale beam, such receptacle being capable of turning
completely round in one direction only for the purpose of emptying its
contents, and every revolution of such receptacle being indicated. upon a
dial plate by connecting one of the pivots or trunnions of such revolving
receptacle with a train of indicating wheelwork, which thus produces a
record of the exact quantity weighed in a given period.
My improvements in apparatus for measuring quantities consist in
mounting a measure, say, for instance, a bushel measure upon a shaft
working in bearings in connection with a train of indicating wheelwork,
this shaft is prevented turning except in one direction so that when the
measure is tilted for the purpose of emptying its contents such measure
is compelled to turn completely round with the shaft before it can be
refilled, every revolution of such shaft causing the indicating wheelwork
to revolve, and the number of revolutions of such shaft being indicated
by an index finger or fingers upon a dial plate which thereby indicates
the exact quantity measured in a given period. .
In order that this my said Invention may be the more readily seen
and understood I have hereunto annexed a Drawing illustrating several

page_text: modifications of my improved apparatus for weighing or measuring
and indicating, drawn to a scale of about one inch and a half to the
foot.
Fig. 1 is a side view; Fig. 2 an end view, and Fig. 3 is a plan of one
modification of a weighing machine constructed according to my Inven-
tion; Fig. 4 is a side view; Fig. 5 an end view partly in section, and
Fig. 6 a plan of a double measuring machine, and Fig. 7 is a side view
of a single measuring machine constructed according to this Invention;
Fig. 8 is a front view; Fig. 9 a plan, and Fig. 10 a side view of an
apparatus to be suspended from a crane for weighing or measuring and
for indicating the quantity so weighed in accordance with this Invention.
Similar letters marked on the Drawings are used to denote similar parts
in all the views.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A is a platform capable of being moved about
from place to place on the wheels B; C is a pillow rising from such
platform supporting the enclosed box D, which is suspended upon the
knife edges E and has a scale beam F affixed at one end, and a shaft G
mounted at the other end. This shaft G is extended inside the enclosed
box D where it carries a ratchet wheel H (seen in Fig. 3 which shews
the top of the enclosed box D removed), provided with a spring paul I to
prevent such ratchet wheel and shaft turning except in one direction.
The extremity of the shaft G (inside the enclosed box D) is connected
to a train of indicating wheels working in the indicating box J, the dial
plate and index finger of which are seen at the rear end of the enclosed
box in Fig. 2, and the other extremity of the shaft G is forked as
illustrated by K, K, in order to support the receptacle L which is
mounted upon knife edges M, working in bearings at the extremity of
the forked arms. This receptacle may be of any convenient shape to suit
the purpose to which the machine is applied or the nature of the material
to be weighed. The scale beam F has a sliding weight N capable of
sliding upon the beam F for exact adjustment, and a suspended bracket O
for carrying the heavier weights. The action of this weighing and
indicating apparatus may be thus described :-The required weight being
placed upon the bracket O the material to be weighed is supplied into
the receptacle L until it overbalances the weight upon the scale beam F
when by means of the handle P such receptacle is turned round or over
in the direction of the arrows (see Fig. 2), so as to tilt it and thus empty
its contents, the ratchet wheel H preventing it turning in the wrong

page_text: direction and necessitating a complete revolution of such receptacle
before it can be refilled, the indicator or counter J denoting the number
of revolutions and consequently the gross weight weighed in a given
period. It will thus be seen that this machine is useful in situations
where it is required to weigh the same weight of material a number of
times and to know the gross weight which has passed through the
machine in a given time.
In Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6, the machine is similar in construction to that
described in reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, but the enclosed box Q is
fixed rigidly upon the top of the pillar R. The scale beam is dispensed
with, and in the case of the double measuring machine the indicators or
counters marked S are placed in the centre of the enclosed box Q (as
shewn in Fig. 6, which has the top of the box removed) and are seen
through a doorway at the top, the lid T of which is shewn partly open
in Fig. 5, which also shews the face of the dial plates. In place of
having a receptacle mounted upon knife edges such receptacle is sub-
stituted in this modification by a measure U of any required capacity
which is fixed rigidly at the extremity of the revolving shaft V, which is
also provided with a ratchet wheel W and pawl X to prevent it turning,
except in one direction; the action of this measuring machine being as
follows: The solid or liquid requiring to be measured is supplied into
the measure U until it becomes filled, when by means of the handle Y
such measure is turned round or over in the direction of the arrows and
the contents thereby emptied, the complete revolution of such measure
having to be performed before it can be refilled and the number of its
revolutions in a given period being denoted by the index finger of the
indicator or counter S. Various sized measures may be employed
with this machine as they may be readily connected and disconnected
by bolts and nuts, or in any other convenient manner to the face.
plate Z.
The receptacle represented by Figs. 8, 9, and 10 is used for weighing
or measuring and indicating large quantities of material whilst being
removed from one place to another by means of a cylindrical or other
suitable shaped vessel a (hereinafter called a receiver) mounted upon
the trunnions 6 and 6', which are fixed in the slides c, which work in
grooves formed in the sides of the bow frame d and are supported by the
strong spiral or other suitable springs e. The bow frame d has a swivel f
at the top, to which the chain of the crane may be. connected and the

page_text: I
trunnion marked b' is extended through into the casing a where it has
a cam affixed, which in revolving with the trunnions moves the ratchet
wheel i, one tooth at a time, and the spindle of such ratchet wheel being
connected to indicating mechanism working in the casing 9 the number
of times the ratchet wheel revolves upon a dial plate enclosed within
the casing g, but capable of being inspected through the doorway j, shown
partly open in Fig. 9.
The method or manner of using this apparatus. may be thus
described :-If it is required to weigh its contents a spring balance or
hydrostatic balance (for which purpose Duckham's patent hydrostatic
weighing machine is well suited) must be suspended from the chain of
the crane and the apparatus be hung by the swivel f from such balance
or weighing machine. The material requiring to be moved and weighed
may now be introduced into the receiver a, and by the time the required
weight has passed in the spiral springs e will have yielded sufficiently to
allow the projection k upon the side of the receiver a to pass beneath
the stud / fixed on the inside of the bow frame d to the position repre-
sented by the dotted lines. The apparatus may now be moved by means
of the crane and thereby carried to its destination, and upon arriving
there the hinged catch m is lifted when the receiver a will empty itself
self-actingly by revolving on the trunnions in the direction of the
arrows in consequence of the centre of gravity of the load being above
the trunnions. The springs will now expand or open again so that when
the receiver is turned up to be refilled the projection k will prevent its
going too far round by coming in contact with the fixed stud l. The
number of times the receiver is emptied in a given period will be indi-
cated by the indicator or counter contained within the casing g, and thus
the quantity weighed may be readily ascertained, and if the capacity of
the receiver is known the quantity moved may be as easily ascertained by
bulk or measure.
I have not attempted to describe any special description of indicator
or counter as this forms no part of my Invention, the only object
of having one being to denote the number of revolutions of the
receptacle, measure, or receiver used, and any existing indicator or counter
answering the purpose if it is compact enough to enter the casing
provided for it.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
my said Invention, together with the best methods with which I. am

page_text: acquainted for carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details, relative
proportions, or dimensions illustrated upon the accompanying Drawing
as the same may be considerably varied without departing from the
Invention, but what I claim is,-
First. The general combination and arrangement of mechanism for
weighing or measuring and-indicating the quantity so weighed or
measured as and for the purpose described.
Second. Mounting a revolving receptacle, measure, or receiver to
which a complete revolution is necessary to be given in one direction in
order to empty its contents, or before it can be refilled, in connection
with indicating mechanism for weighing or measuring, and moving from
place to place, as and for the purposes described and illustrated on the
accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Lyon, have hereunto set my
hand and affixed my seal, this Fifteenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.