IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING OR MEASURING CORN AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Baxter, of Brixton Hill, in the
County of Surrey; for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING OR MEASURING CORN AND OTHER SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 17th June 1870, and dated the 24th December 1869:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry
Baxter at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 24th December 1869.
I, WILLIAM HENRY BAXTER, of Brixton Hill, in the County of
Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING OR MEASURING CORN AND
OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the production of a cheap self-acting
machine for weighing or measuring corn and other substances, and for
registering the same upon a dial or dials. For this purpose I make a
strong frame of wood or iron supporting a beam suspended on suitable
centres. This beam may be made conveniently of two bars of iron or

page_text: wood connected together on one side of the fulcrum, but having a space
between them on the other. On this latter side and between the two
bars is a drum divided into three or more compartments of a peculiar
'construction. This drum has an axis through the centre, which is free
to turn in bearings on the ends of the two bars of the beam. The
compartments of the drum are so arranged that when receiving a
charge of corn or other substance the receiving compartment is on
one side of the axis of motion, so that when the drum is released from
the stops it shall turn on its axis and discharge the contents thereof, the
compartments of the drum being of such a form as readily to deliver the
contents thereof. The portion of the beam on the opposite side of the
fulcrum has hooks attached, and also a scale pan on which to place the
weights, or if desired the weights may be carried thereby in other suitable
manner. On one side of the axis of the drum before mentioned is fixed a
wheel or cam having teeth or projections corresponding to the number of
compartments in the drum, the flat part of said teeth or projections in
a state of inactivity resting against a stop firmly attached to the frame
of the machine, and if desired a similar wheel or cam may be placed
at the other end of the axis and have its accompanying stop placed on
the frame. A shoot or hopper is fixed on the top of the frame, and is
so shaped as to lead the corn or other substances into that compartment
of the drum which is then in position to be filled. A valve or cut off
worked by a lever from the beam stops the escape of the material being
weighed through the shoot when the drum descends, and another lever
actuates the index for the purpose of registering the quantity at the
same time. The quantity passed and registered at each descent of the
drum is regulated by the weights in the scale pan or hung from the
beam. Where measure and not weight is required it is only necessary
to weigh a known bulk first, and place weights in the scale pan
accordingly.
the
The action of the machine is as follows:-The weight of the quantity
or measure requiring to be registered having been agreed upon
corresponding weights are placed in the scale pan or hung from the
beam, and the index may be placed at zero. The corn or other substance
is fed into the hopper by elevators, or manual labour, or otherwise, and
flows into the compartment ready to receive it until sufficient has gone
through to turn the scale, when that has taken place the drum descends

page_text: until it is clear of the stop or stops on the frame (by which time it has
itself cut off the supply of material), when from the peculiar construction
of the drum it turns over, thereby allowing the material to fall out, and
at the same moment it presents another compartment to the mouth of
the shoot ready to be filled; being lightened it returns, releases the
shut off; and the operation is repeated:
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Henry Baxter in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th June 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY BAXTER, of Brixton Hill, in the County of Surrey, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenth-fourth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Henry Baxter, Her special licence,
that I, the said William Henry Baxter, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Henry Baxter, 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
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WEIGHING OR MEASURING CORN AND OTHER SUB-
STANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Henry Baxter, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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.
1
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Henry Baxter, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same.

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the production of a cheap self-acting
machine for weighing or measuring corn and other substances, and for
registering the same upon a dial or dials. For this purpose I make a
strong frame of wood or iron supporting a beam suspended on suitable
centres. This beam may be made conveniently of two bars of iron or
wood connected together on one side of the fulcrum, but having a space
between them on the other. On this latter sido and between the two
bars is a drum divided into three or more compartments of a peculiar
construction. This drum has an axis through the centre, which is free
to turn in bearings on the ends of the two bars of the beam. The
compartments of the drum are so arranged that when receiving a
charge of corn or other substance the receiving compartment is on one
side of the axis of motion, so that when the drum is released from the
stops it shall turn on its axis and discharge the contents thereof, the
compartments of the drum being of such a form as readily to deliver
the contents thereof. The portion of the beam on the opposite side of
the fulcrum has hooks attached, and also a scale pan on which to place
the weights, or if desired the weights may be carried thereby in other
suitable matter. On one end of the axis of the drum before mentioned
is fixed a wheel or cam having teeth or projections corresponding to the
number of compartments in the drum, the flat part of said teeth or
projections in a state of inactivity resting against a stop firmly attached
to the frame of the machine, and if desired a similar wheel or cam may
be placed at the other end of the axis and have its accompanying stop
placed on the frame. A shoot or hopper is fixed on the top of the
frame, and is so shaped as to lead the corn or other substances into that
compartment of the drum which is then in position to be filled. A
valve or cut off worked by a lever from the beam stops the escape of
the material being weighed through the shoot when the drum descends,
and another lever actuates the index for the purpose of registering the
quantity at the same time. The quantity passed and registered at each
descent of the drum is regulated by the weights in the scale pan or
hung from the beam. Where measure and not weight is required it is
only necessary to weigh a known bulk first and place weights in the
scale pan accordingly.

page_text: which the machine may be designed, for instance, where very light
substances are to be weighed I arranged the shape of the compartments
by metal or other plates placed therein in such a way that the centre
of gravity of the substance shall be as far as possible from the centre
of the drum, whilst in dense substances I place the centre of gravity
as near as possible to the centre of the drum. y, y, y, is a cam which,
if desired, may be of solid metal, and fixed on the axis of the drum at
any point, but I prefer to attach it to the end of the drum, as shewn;
the parts v, v, v, are of cast iron or other suitable material with smooth
sides, where the wheel of the stop rests; f is the stop consisting of a
bar firmly fixed to the frame with a small wheel of steel or other suitable
material revolving on a stud projecting therefrom, or the stud may be
fixed in the frame as at o, in Figures 6, 7, and 8; w, w, w, w, is a circle
fixed to the drum, and with the cam forming a groove; c, c, are catches
'to prevent the rebound from the stop, and 8, 8, are springs to ensure
'their action, but the latter are not always essential. C is the hopper
supported by rods or bars O¹, 0³, or in any other suitable manner; G is its
valve or shut off worked by a lever G₁ from the axis of the drum. From
the beam D a scale pan may be hung, and after balancing the weight of
the drum weights may be used therein, but I prefer to use one weight
(E) only, hanging it nearer to or further from the fulcrum of the
beam according to the quantity or weight to be passed into the com-
partment at each operation, for which purpose the beam D is marked
in the manner of a steelyard. The weight E is fixed at any desired spot
by a set screw or other suitable means. H is the counter or index
actuated by the pawl m on the beam D³. I do not confine myself to
any particular form of counter or index, nor to the exact shape of the
valve or cut off, and I have not shown the construction of this index,
as such is now well understood, and may be varied according to
-circumstances.
Figures, 6, 7, and 8 are other modifications of my Invention. The
cam with its catches, springs, and stop, and the drum, hopper, shut off,
and index may be similar to those described in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5,
'but the beam is compound instead of simple, and where dense substances
require to be weighed I extend the principle of compound beams still
further in order to reduce the size of the weight and for other reasons,
but I do not shew this as the principle is well known and commonly
practised.

page_text: Instead of a set screw the weight E, Figure 2, and j, Figures 6 and 8,
may swing by knife edges on the beam D, Figures 1 and 2, and f,
Figures 6 and 8, indentations being made in the said beam to prevent
the weight from shifting.
In place of weights hung from the beam I sometimes employ springs
capable of regulation..
I will now proceed to describe Figures 6, 7, and 8, so far as they
differ from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. A is the frame of the machine; B, Figure 8,
a supplementary frame mounted on castors if desired, upon which the
frame A may be fixed if necessary, and thus the machine may be easily
moved about; a, b, are grooves in the sides of the frame; c is the axis
of the drum freely passing through groove a, and revolving in the ends
of arms d, d. The rod or bar e, Figure 6, connects the arms d, d,
together, and passes through the groove b. In Figure 8 the rod or bar e
in its centre has a knife edge resting upon one end of the lever f, which
in its turn works with a knife edge upon the fulcrum g, or upon a
reserved knife edge fixed thereon; j is the weight, I, Figures 7 and 8,
is a hopper fixed under the drum to guide the material into any
receptacle placed beneath it; n is the pawl to actuate the index or
counter.
Figure 9 is a side view of a modified form of hopper and cut off, and
Figure 10 is a section of the same through 9, 9. P' is the front of the
hopper bent as shown to P³; P³ is the bottom plate of hopper extending
only to g. M is a plate of iron or other suitable material curved in such
a form as when fixed to arms which work on the centres r, r, as shewn,
works in the groove g, g, and this forms a complete cut off to the supply
of the substance or material to be weighed or measured. The weight of
this cut off is compensated by the balls k, k, which move loosely on the
lever or arm and are capable of adjustment. C³ is the lever which
actuates it; Qshews a cheek (a similar one being on the opposite side)
to prevent the substance from falling outside the drum.
I have not shewn a drawing of a machine constructed on the principle
of my
Invention for weighing or measuring liquid substances, because
it is similar to the above machines, except that the hopper being un-
necessary the lever for actuating the cut off works directly on to the
supply pipe, as shewn at Figure 11, where the supply pipe is shewn with
its tap operated by the lever C³.

page_text: Figure 12 is a side view, and Figure 13 is a front elevation of another
modification of my Invention, which I will proceed to describe so far
as it differs from the arrangements shown and described with respect
to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. A. is the frame, and D, D, the beam
working with knife edges or centres at Q; L, L, are links, in which the
centre shaft of the drum B is supported and revolves, the motion of
the drum being controlled by the links or connecting rods
P, P, which
are pinjointed to the frame A, as shewn. The links L, L, swing on
knife edges fixed on the ends of the beam D. The dotted lines y, y, Y,
represent the cam and parts connected therewith, as described with
respect to the previous arrangements; 8, 8, 8, 8, is another cam fixed on
the opposite end of the drum B acting upon a rod r having a friction
roller resting on its periphery. This rod actuates the shut off by
means of the weight W, which has a tendency to keep it shut unless
lifted by the teeth of the cam 8, 8, 8, 8. In the modification here shewn
I make the drum circular and divide it into four compartments, as shewn
by the dotted lines 2, 2, 2, 2, the cam y and parts connected therewith
being formed to correspond. E is the weight for regulating the quantity
of material to be weighed or measured.
The index or counter is not shewn in the Drawing, but is worked in
a similar manner to that described in the other modifications.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the modes
in which I prefer to carry the same into effect, I would have it under-
stood that I claim,-
•
First. The peculiar arrangements and combinations of means for
weighing or measuring automatically various substances, and registering
the same, substantially as herein shewn and described.
Secondly. I claim the various arrangements of rotating drum carried
at one end of an arm mounted on a centre of motion, the other end of
such arm being provided with a weight or weights capable of being
shifted thereon or carried by a scale pan in manner and for the purpose
substantially as herein shewn and described.
Thirdly. I claim the employment of a rotating drum, as herein-
before described, in combination with a hopper for supplying the material
to the drum and a shut off for stopping the flow of the material to the
drum, operated in manner and for the purpose substantially as herein
shewn and described.

page_text: Fourthly. I claim the employment of a rotating drum carried and
actuated as herein shewn and described in combination with a registering
apparatus, in manner and for the purpose substantially as herein shewn
and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Baxter, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of June, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
WILLIAM HENRY BAXTER. (L.S.)
Witness,
B. J. B. MILLS,
Patent Agent,
35, Southampton Buildings,
London.