AN IMPROVED AUTOMATIC MACHINE FOR WEIGHING AND REGISTERING GRAIN AND OTHER SUBSTANCES.
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Pooley, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Weighing Machine Manufacturer, and Thomas Roberts,
also of Liverpool, aforesaid, Ironfounder, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED AUTOMATIC MACHINE FOR WEIGHING AND REGISTERING GRAIN
AND OTHER SUBSTANCES.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Pooley and
Thomas Roberts at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 23rd June 1870.
We, HENRY POOLEY, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Weighing Machine Manufacturer, and THOMAS ROBERTS, also of
Liverpool, aforesaid, Ironfounder, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED AUTOMATIC MACHINE FOR WEIGHING
AND REGISTERING GRAIN AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object an improved system of continuous
self-acting and self-registering machinery for weighing grain, flour, or
other substances.

page_text: A machine constructed according to this Invention consists of a
hopper platform supported on balance beams or levers of the first order,
but otherwise similar to those generally used in platform weighing
machines. The hopper has two inclined and two straight sides, the
inclined sides being parallel with the sides of the platform, and the
straight sides parallel with the ends of the platform. On the platform
and at the centre of each straight side of the hopper are bearings, upon
which is suspended an oscillating box or scale of rectangular horizontal
section, entirely open both at top and bottom, two of its sides at their
bottom ends forming severally two sides of a triangle with its apex
downwards. The box is also divided vertically into two equal divisions
by a diaphragm made chiefly and by preference of cloth or canvas,
which bags or swells outwards from each division as each is filled with
grain; this box oscillates freely across the machine thereby bringing
each side of its triangular shaped bottom alternately into contact with
the inclined sides of the hopper platform, which latter thus act alter-
natively for the time as bottoms to the otherwise open divisions of the
box. This box is suspended below its centre of gravity by trunnions
working in the before-mentioned bearings, and is so arranged that when
in one position it has received the proper quantity of grain or other
substance to be weighed, the position of its centre of gravity causes it
to move to the other side of the hopper and thereby discharge from one
division and presents the open top of the second division to receive the
flow or feed of grain, which flow or feed is continued without interruption
to each division in succession. To reduce the shock caused by the
inclined sides of the box coming into contact with the platform hopper,
(as the box oscillates) the edges may be faced with leather, wood, or
other suitable material. Attached to and across one end of the box is
a small quadrant having a catch or notch at each end thereof,
into which locks a stop or pawl alternately at each oscillation of the
box. This stop or pawl is supported by a bracket or standard fixed on
the platform, and is actuated by a vertical rod connected with a lever
under the platform. This lever is struck and worked by a tumbler or
hammer worked by the action of the balance beams or levers. The
balance beams are carried on a base plate having its sides coming under
the platform and an opening to admit the discharging end of the hopper.
Attached to this base plate is a bracket or framework rising over the
scale box and carrying a feed spout or funnel, which is formed with a
triangular aperture with an inverted apex standing over the centre of

page_text: 'on continuously. Each oscillation of the box registers on the dial or
index.
When the machine is required to discharge into sacks (in the case
of the modification before referred to) they are hung or attached to
inclined sides or channels formed for the purpose in the platform. The
machine is fitted with suitable hooks for hanging and means for keeping.
open the mouths of the sacks. The box in its alternate oscillations
emptying the contents of the respective compartments alternately into
them.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Pooley and Thomas Roberts in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 20th December 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
POOLEY, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Weighing Machine
Manufacturer, and THOMAS ROBERTS, also of Liverpool, aforesaid, Iron-
founder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of June, 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 us, the said Henry Pooley and Thomas Roberts, Her special
licence that we, the said Henry Pooley and Thomas Roberts, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Henry Pooley and Thomas Roberts, our 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 "AN IMPROVED AUTOMATIC MACHINE FOR WEIGHING
AND REGISTERING GRAIN AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Henry Pooley and Thomas Roberts, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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

page_text: Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent..
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Henry Pooley and. Thomas:
Roberts, do hereby declare the nature of our said 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 has for its object an improved system of continuous
self-acting and self-registering machinery for weighing grain, flour, or
other substances.
:
A machine constructed according to this Invention consists of a hopper
platform supported on balance beams or levers of the first order, but
otherwise similar to those generally used in platform weighing machines..
This hopper has two inclined and two straight sides, the inclined sides
being parallel with the sides of the platform, and the straight sides
parallel with the ends of the platform. On the platform and at the
centre of each straight side of the hopper are bearings, upon which is
suspended an oscillating box or scale of rectangular horizontal. section.
entirely open both at top and bottom, two of its sides at their bottom
ends forming severally two sides of a triangle with its apex downwards..
The box is also divided vertically into two equal divisions by a diaphragm,.
which may be made chiefly of cloth or canvas, which bags or swells.
outwards from each division as each is filled with grain. This box.
oscillates freely across the machine, thereby bringing each side of its
triangular-shaped bottom alternately into contact with the inclined sides
of the hopper platform, which latter thus act alternatively for the time;
as bottoms to the otherwise open divisions of the box.
This box is suspended below its centre of gravity by trunnions working
in the before-mentioned bearings, and is so arranged that when in one.
position it has received the proper quantity of grain or other substance;
to be weighed, the position of its centre of gravity causes it to move to.
the other side of the hopper, and thereby discharge from one division.
and presents the open top of the second division to receive the flow or:
feed of grain, which flow or feed is continued without interruption to,
each division in succession. To reduce the shock caused by the inclined
sides of the box coming into contact with the platform hopper (as the
box oscillates) the edges may be faced with leather, wood, or other
suitable material. Attached to and across one end of the box is a small
quadrant having a catch or notch at each end thereof, into which locks
:

page_text: a stop or pawl alternately at each oscillation of the box. This stop or
pawl is supported by a bracket or standard fixed on the platform, and
is actuated by a vertical rod connected with a lever under the platform.
This lever is struck and worked by a tumbler or hammer worked by the
action of the balance beams or levers. The balance beams are carried
on a base plate having its sides coming under the platform and an
opening to admit the discharging end of the hopper. Attached to this
base plate is a bracket or framework rising over the scale box and
carrying a feed spout or funnel, which is formed with a triangular
aperture with an inverted apex standing over the centre of the oscil-
lating box. Across the triangular opening of this feed spout is a lever
damper or partial cutter off, which is carried by the same framework
as the feed spout, and moves at the proper moment by its own weight
in conjunction with the balance beams, with which it is connected by
a rod. The balance beams are furnished with a weight (in the case of
weighing centals of grain), of, say, eighty pounds, the remaining twenty
ar one-fifth part being made up by other weights so arranged that they
will not come into action until the scale is partly depressed and the feed
partly cut off. Worked by the oscillation of the box is a suitable dial,
register, or counter indicating the number of loads of grain passed
through the machine.
A modification of this Invention may be arranged for weighing grain,
flour, and other substances direct into sacks. A machine thus con-
structed has, instead of the hopper formed in the platform, channels or
inclined sides on the outside of the platform itself. The box or scale
is semicircular, having a vertical diaphragm across dividing it into two
equal parts and a flat bottom. This box is hung across the centre of
its base or bottom over the inclined sides or channels of the platform,
and as it oscillates it brings its divisions alternately under the feed
spout and empties them alternately down the inclined sides or channels
of the platform. In other respects the machine may be similar to that
first described.
The before-going being the nature and object of our Invention we
will now proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the
same is to be or may be performed or carried out into practical effect,
and in order that the same may be more clearly and readily understood,
we have hereunto annexed two Sheets of Drawings illustrative thereof,
and have marked them with figures and letters of reference corresponding

page_text: used to denote similar parts.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a cross sectional elevation of a machine constructed
according to our Invention.
Figure 2, Sheet 1, is a side sectional clevation of the same.
Figure 3, Sheet 1, is a plan of the same with hopper platform removed,
showing arrangement of levers.
Figure 4, Sheet 1, is an outside plan, showing hopper platform, box,
or scale, with disengaging and registering gear.
Figure 5, Sheet 1, shows a feed spout of the form we consider best.
adapted to the machine.
Figures 6, 7, and 8, Sheet 1, show the box or scale, drawn to a larger
size and more in detail.
Figure 9, Sheet 2, is an end elevation of a modification of our In-
vention, especially adapted for weighing into sacks, and which is suitable
for use for measuring liquids.
Figure 10, Sheet 2, is a side elevation of the same.
And Figure 11, Sheet 2, is a plan of the same.
Of the before-going Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Sheet 1, and Figures 9, 10,
and 11, Sheet 2, are drawn to a scale of two inches to the foot. Figures 6,
7, and 8, Sheet 1, are drawn to the scale of inch and a half to the foot.
Upon reference it will be seen that the machine consists of a hopper
platform A supported upon balance beams or levers of the first order B.
The hopper A has two inclined sides a and two straight sides a¹. On
the platform A and on the centre of the straight sides a¹ of the hopper
are bearings C, upon which is suspended, slightly below its centre of
gravity, a box or scale D of rectangular horizontal section, entirely open
at the top d and open at the bottom from d¹ to d³. This box is divided
vertically into two equal divisions by a diaphragm E, which may be of
cloth or canvas e, in which case it is made so as to swell or bag out on
each side of the centre alternately as each division is filled. F, pivots
or trunnions supporting box or scale D, and working in the before-
mentioned bearings. Attached to and across the end of the box is a
small quadrant G, having a catch or notch H at each end thereof, into
which locks a stop or pawl J. This stop or pawl is supported by a
standard K fixed on the platform A. The stop or pawl is actuated
OSONA

page_text: by a vertical rod L connected with a lever under the platform. This
lever is struck and worked by a tumbler hammer m worked by the
action of the balance beams or levers B. The balance beams are carried
on a base plate M. The sides N may be covered in with wood or in any
other suitable manner. The base plate M has an opening M³ to admit
the discharging mouth of the hopper A. Attached to the base plate M
is a bracket or framework O rising over the scale box D and supporting
a quadrant bracket O³, which carries at one end a feed spout P, which is
formed with a triangular aperture having an inverted apex standing
over the centre of the scale box D. The quadrant at the other end
carries and acts as fulcrum to a lever cutter off or damper Q. This
cutter off may be formed convex and the feed spout concave, as shown
at Q', or may be concave and the feed spout convex. This lever cut off
is worked by its own leverage, controuled by the rod R, which works
in connexion with the balance beams or levers B. S shows an arrange-
ment for registering the number of loads passed through the machine
worked by the oscillation of the scale box D. S', register or counter
(but any other suitable register or counter may be adapted). The
balance beams B are provided with suitable weights, which are placed
at B', within, say, twenty pounds, or one-fifth of the amount required,
the remainder being made up by other weights, so arranged that they
will not come into action until the scale is partly depressed and the feed
partially cut off.
In the modification shown by Figures 9, 10, and 11, Sheet 2, the
platform A in this case instead of being provided with a hopper has
inclined sides or channels T and brackets T', which support suitable
funnels or mouth pieces t, to which are hung sacks U. The scale box D
is semicircular and of rectangular section, divided into two equal parts
by diaphragm E, and is hung or suspended by suitable pivots on the
standards V, and when in position is so arranged that its diaphragm E
and its bottom E¹ form respectively the sides of the division of the box.
The quadrant G and disengaging gear may be arranged to work under-
neath the scale box or on the side of the box at G¹, as shown, or in
other suitable manner. In other respects the feed, counterbalance
beams, and attendant parts may be arranged similar to the machine
shown in Sheet 1.
vo nation of the marking in an fallen
Thala ham n
1

page_text: spout P. The open bottom of the scale box from d' to d is closed by
being in contact with the inclined side a of the hopper platform A. The
grain or other substance to be weighed is led into the feed spout P,
through which it flows into the division of the scale box D, which is
under it. As the grain or material fills the compartment or division,
and when the maximum weight is nearly approached, the platform A
sinks, preponderating over the weights at B' on the balance beams B.
The balance beams B relieving the lever cut-off Q by means of the rod R.,
the grain or material flowing through the spout P is partially stopped.
Upon the whole or entire weight being obtained in the scale box the
platform is further depressed, overcoming the smaller or compensating
weights. The tumbler hammer m is then and thereby disengaged and
falls on the lever 7, which actuates the vertical rod L and throws up the
pawl J from the quadrant G, thus releasing the scale box D, which then
by reason of its own weight oscillates across the hopper, bringing its
other lower edge in contact with the opposite inclined side a of the
hopper, and thus allowing the full division to discharge its load through
the mouth of the hopper, from whence it is led away by suitable means.
The other division now being under the feed spout fills and discharges
in like manner, and so on continuously, each oscillation or filling of the
scale box D being registered or indicated on the counter dial S'.
In the case of the modification shown in Sheet 2, the material to be
weighed flows into the division of the scale box D, and when the weight
is obtained it oscillates in like manner to the before-going description,
discharging the contents of its divisions alternately down the respective
inclined sides of the platform A, the material running into sacks U or
other suitable receptacles.
Having now described and ascertained the nature and object of this
our Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be or may be
performed or carried out into practical effect, we would have it clearly
understood that we do not limit ourselves to the exact dimensions,
relative proportions, and style of the different parts of the machine as
shown in the Drawings, as it will be understood by any mechanical
engineer or others acquainted with the manufacture that the same
may be considerably varied without departing from our Invention; but
what we claim as the Invention secured to us by Letters Patent as
aforesaid is,-
Firstly. The hopper platform A, that is, the platform hung on balance

page_text: beams, having a hopper attached to or in it, substantially in the manner
and for the purposes herein-before described and set forth.
Secondly. The oscillating box or scale D open at top and bottom, as
shown at Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8, Sheet 1, substantially in the
manner and for the purposes herein-before described and set forth.
Thirdly. The arrangement of feed spout and cut-off substantially in
the manner and for the purposes herein-before described and set forth.
Fourthly. The oscillating box or scale together with a platform having
suitable inclined sides or shoots, as shown in Figures 9, 10, and 11,
Sheet 2, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-before
described and set forth.
Fifthly. The combination of the several parts herein-before described
by the several Figures in Sheet 1, together forming an automatic
machine for weighing and registering grain and other substances,
substantially in the manner set forth.
And, lastly. The combination and arrangement of the several parts of
the machine described and illustrated by Figures 9, 10, and 11, Sheet 2,
forming an automatic machine for weighing and registering grain and
other substances into sacks or other suitable receptacles, substantially as
set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Pooley and Thomas Roberts,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Nineteenth day of
December, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy.
Witness,
FREDERICK J. CHEESBROUGH,
of 43, Castle Street,
Liverpool.
HENRY
(L.S.) POOLEY.
THOMAS (L.S.) ROBERTS.