US399488A - Machine for weighing traveling loads - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

A. R BROWN.

MAGHINE FOR WEIGHING TRAVELING LOADS. No. 399,488. Patented Mar. 12, 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ALEXANDER E. BRDIVN, OF CLEVELAND, ()liIO.

MACHlNE FOR VVElGl-HNG TRAVELEN SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,488, dated March 12, 1889.

Application filed March 5; 1887. Serial No. 229,808. No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may con/00771,.-

lle it known that I, ALEXANDER E. BROWN, of Cleveland, in the county of uyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in \Yeighlug-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this application.

My invention relates to certain new and i useful improvements in machinery or apparatus for weighing materials or loads, and especially adapted to the weighing and regis- 1 tering or recording of the weights of loaded trucks, buckets, or other receptacles during their passage over any sort of tramway or railway, and without nece. :arily either stop ping or retarding the motion of said travel ing loads for the purpose of obtaining and registering their weights.

In another application filed simultaneousl with this (Serial No. 229,807) I have set up certain generic claims on the machine or apparatus herein shown and described, which machine is also shown and described in United States Letters Patent granted to me August 9, 1887, No. 368,063, in which is claimed, broadly, the new method of ascertaining weights, which is accomplished by such a machine or apparatus. In this case the improvements sought to be covered consist in certain specific combinations of devices, which will be found hereinafter fully described, and which will be more specifically pointed out and defined in the claims of this specification. Any and all generic features of improvement or invention in said machine which may form the subjects-matter of claims in my other application (N0.220,80T) are disclaimed as forming any part of the sub ject-matter of inven tion sought to be covered in this application.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my present invention relates to make and use a machine according to my first invention, 1 will now proceed to more fully describe my improved apparatus or contrivance, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,and inwhich I have shown my invention carried out in that form in which I have practically and successfully used it, and which is about the best form now known to me.

elevation of one of my improved machines.

such as I have made and used in connection with a rigid tramway hoist ing and conveying machine. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same. Fig. 3 is an end view, and Fig. 4 a partial vertical cross-section at line .r .r of Fig. 1.

In the several figures the same parts will be found designated by the same letters of reference.

A A are the track-beams or elevated tramway in connection with which I have practiced my present invention. At suitable distances apart on said tramway are erected and securely supported two metallic arches, 13 B, and also an intermediate arch, t, and at the locality between the arches I5 I; the inner upper edges of the trackbean1s A are chamfered off, as most clearly seen by reference to Fig. 3.

I) is a cage-like weiglring-platform, composed, as shown, of a scriesoi metallic arches connected together by longitudinal bracebars, (the whole being suitably cross-braced to give the cage rigidity.) and the lower inner ends of the arch-like pieces have securely fastened to them angle-irons u, (see Fig. 23,) which form a continuation of the interru ned track-irons of the-tramway. 'lhese trackirons n are adapted to receive and support the wheels 0 O of the conveying-machines (shown at ll) whenever the same may travel or pass from the track (1 a of the tramway onto and over the track n n of the platform or cage D.

At Fig. 3 the wheels of the machine are shown as traveling upon the track-irons of the plat form I). This track-platform is suspended at four points, and near each end by suspension-loops s, which are hung upon hooks that are suspended at their eyes upon the knifeedged supports o of two levers or scale-beams, E, that are in turn hung upon knife-edges at their outer ends, and which are supported at their adjacent and inner ends upon similar knife-edged supports in a manner to be pres ently explained. These levers or scale-beams E are each supported at the outer end upon knifeedged bearings c, which rest and bear in loops that are hooked into fixed suspended rods p, that depend from the tops of the metallic arches ll, all as best seen by reference to Fig. l. The inner and adjacent ends of u, said scale-beams E are supported by knifeedges 6 and 6 which have their bearings in the eyes of the loop or link f, the upper end of which is hooked into a pivoted link, g, that in turn rests upon a knife-edge, i, (see Fig. l,)

which is permanently secured to the middle part of the lower arm, (7, one end of which is suspended by an articulation at 72 from the TO top of the metallic frame 0, and the other end of which is connected with a hook, on, to a loop which passes over the knifeedged bearing of the scale-beam G. This scale-beam G is pivoted at 7t bya knife-edged bearing in the upper end of a stand, Z, which is securely bolted to and projects a short distance above .-the middle arch or metallic frame 0, and between this pivotal connection 7s and the end of the longer arm of the scale-beam G said scale-beam is pivoted by the knifeedged bearing 10 to a loop or link, which is hooked to the upper end of a strong spiral spring, I,

the lower end of which is anchored to a fixed part of the frame-work of the apparatus.

M is an indicator or register wheel, which is mounted to turn freely with or upon a vertical shaft, P, having a suitable step-bearing at its lower end, and an upper bearing provided in the end of an angle iron or bracket, 0 Q, the vertical leg of which is securely bolted to one of the metallic arches B. This drum is rotated continuously with a uniform motion by any suitable means, preferably by clock mechanism, such as shown at S, through the medium of a driving ban d or cord, '1,which,

after having passed partially around the periphery of said drum M and thence over an idler at r, is provided at its lower end with a weight, a. This drum is designed to carry 40 on its periphery an indicator-card or slip of paper, upon which are to be recorded, in a mann r te'be presently explained, the lines which 'ffndicate and register the weight or weights of the load which may be placed upon the platform D, or which may travel over the same, and also the standard line or lines, by comparison of which, according to my system, the record of the load or loads weighed is to be ascertained.

The outer end of the scale-beam G is connected by a suitable rod or piston, as shown at Fig. l, with a dash-pot at L, designed to operate, preferably, with atmospheric air.

q is a vertical guide bar or way, against the inner face of which t'avels an anti-friction roller, a, that is mounted to turn freely on a stud secured in a stand that projects laterally from the outer side or face of the scale-beam G, near its outer end, for a purpose to be presently explained. I

r is a marker device or pencil suitably mounted near the end of beam G at a point about coincident with a radius of the wheel l\lth at is, at right angles to the vertical plane in which the beam G lies.

In the working or operation of the machine so far described the passage over the suspended platform D of any weight or load causes said platform to be slightly depressed, and in its descent it pulls upon the pivoted levers E E through the media of the connecting links or loops 5 and the knife-edged pivots (I, causing the inner and adjacent ends of said levers E to pull down through the'media of the knife-edged pivots e and 6 upon the linkf, which in turn exerts a downward pull, through its connection at g, on the knifeedged pivot i of the cross-lever (7. Thislever (I, being articulated, as before described, at one end, is caused to slightly descend at its other end, thus pulling downwardly,through the media of the bar 721 and knife-edged pivot j, the shorter end of the scalebeam g, thus causing the outer or longer end of said scalebeam to ascend, and in this upward move ment of the outer end of said scale-beam the pencil or marker device r is caused to draw in a nearly-vertical direction a line ormark upon the periphery or indicator-card of the drum M. As this drum revolves continuously, the line d awn will be slightly oblique, and when the load shall have been removed from or shall have passed entirely over the platform D the resumption by all the parts of their original positions will. cause the marking device to draw a slightly-oblique descending line, the loop end of which will of course be at the same level as that in which the line first made began. As the marker device or pencil 7' remains continuously in contact by suitable springpressuie with the periphery of the drum M or the paper placed thereon, said pencil will of course continue to mark in a horizontal direction. on the drum-paper until the mechanism may be again operated by another load applied to or passing over the platform D.

During the operation just described the scale-beam G, when operated by the weight of a load on the platform I), is moved against the pulling tendency or resistance of the powerful coil-spring I, and it is this spring which acts as a motor when the platform shall have been relieved of its load to bring all the parts back to their original. positions.

As in suddenly causing a loaded car or truck to pass over the platform there is exerted a great tendency to effect a sudden jarring and vibration of all the parts, which would naturally tend to obstruct an even movement of the marking device, and which might operate to throw the long end of the scale-beam either above or below the exact limits to which the dead-weight of the load should cause it to move, I have combined, as already described, with the outer end of the scale-beam G a dash-pot, L, the function and effect of which is to prevent any sudden vibration of the long end of the scale-beam G without preventing said end from moving in either direction to the fullest extent to which the weight on and the releasement of the weight from the platform should move the scale-beam for the purpose of making a true load passing over the platform.

To avoid any possible vibration of the long end of the scale-beam laterally that might operate to or iujuriously affect the perfect working of the spring-pencil or elastic marking device, I have provided a vertical guide or bar, q, and the small antifriction roller .0, mounted on one side of the scale-beam G, as shown and described, the function and effect of which devices are to cause the anti-friction roller to bear, with little or no impediment to the motion of the scale-beam, against the inner face of the vertical bar (1, and to steady and hold the scale-beam laterally during its upward and downward movements.

It will be observed that the knife-edges or pivotal points of each one of the levers E, as well as those of the scale-beam G, are placed exactly in a right line, and this is an important and indispensable feature in the construction of my machine, although directly opposite to the principle of construction necessarily and properly involved in scales or weighing contrivauces in which the operation involves the balancing of some lover or beam in the operation of measuring the weight. In my machine, as there is no bringing to an equilibrium of any of the parts, but the registering operation, in order to be correctly done, must be effected by the action of vibrating parts, in which the leverage must remain exactly the same during their movements, this arrangement of the pivotal points exactly in line is of the utmost importance.

In the practical use of my machine so far for the purposes for which I have employed iii-namely, for ascertaining the separate and collective weights of a series of loaded trucks or cars passing over a bridge or tramway and of the empty returning ears, (in order to ascertain the aggregate weight of material delivered over the tramway within a given time) 1 have adopted a system of depressing the platform periodically-say at morning, noon, and evening of each day-by the passage over it of what 1 call a standard weight "-that is, a load of accurately-ascertained gravityand then, by a comparison of the marks registered by the action on the platform of all the loaded and empty cars passing over during the day with one of the marks made by the passage of the standard weight, (or with an average as to the lengths of said three marks,provided any variation between them appeanl l have ascerregistration of the amount of gravity of the tained the exact weights of the aggregate gross loads passing over the platform, and also i the aggregate of the tare loads returning, a subtraetion'of one from the other of which, of l course, shows accurately the amount of material that may have been delivered over the platform within a given time.

It is important that the extent of depression of the platform D even under the heaviest l loads shall be comparatively slight, in order that the track-iron m of said platform shall never descend below the level of the tracks a proportion of leverage of the tramway sufliciently to produce any serious impediment to the running of the wheels of the truck or car from the depressed plat-form off onto the tramway. l have therefore arranged the system of levers in such and have made the springl of such strength that an exceedingly slight depression of the platform will occur under any weight that mayhave to pass over it, while at the same time a snflicient extent of motion up and down will be given to the marker or pencil to record lines of snflicient length to be easily measured.

In order to avoid an unnecessaryscope of movement in the scale-bez'un and other parts of the contrivance by having the machine adapted to indicate weights om zero up, I have adapted the resistant spring I to have its power or tension adjusted or regulated by turning an adjusting-nut, as seen at Fig. 1, so that it maybe set to record a givenmaximum weight, say of two thousand pounds, more or less, (according to the minimum weight of any empty truck or car which may have to be used in connection with the weighing contrivance,) and thus I am enabled, it will be seen, to have the marking device start only at such a point above zero as may benecessary for weighing any loads the gravity of which it may be desired to measure. Of course the standard weight passed over periodically, as hereinbefore mentioned, will be any given numbcrof pounds greater than the weight at which the machine begin to measure.

It will be seen that in the use of a contrivancesuch as herein shown and described for the purposes of weighing and recording the weights of loads periodically traveling over the weighing-platform no time or labor is nec essary, nor is the attendance of any operative required in order-to secure an accurate measurement and record of all the work done during a day or other given. period of time.

It will be understood that in arriving at the aggregates of the loaded receptacles passing over and the empty ones returning by the simple addition of the several lines marked for each kind of load, and the subsc quent measurement or ascertainment of the value of the entire line representing each kind, any slight mistake in measurement or ascertainment of the value of either or both of such entire lines can be made but once, whereas in any system of weighing and machine therefore in which the several items have to be measured or ascertained separately, and the aggregate obtained by an addition of the items, the mistakes of ascertainment may be of course as numerous as the items measured. This, then, leads to a great advantage in favor of my improved machine over any other heretofore made gous purpose. By the use of a uniformlyrevolving drum or indicz'itor-card on which is adjusted to the marks are made and a suitable mechanism for timing the movements or rotations of for an alo ITO *tent of movement the drum, or by laying off the indicator-Cami into hours and minutes to correspond with the time, I am enabled to read from the recorded in: ks not only the measures of the weights of all the loads that passed over the platform, but also the exact times at which each and all of the loaded as well as the empty receptacles n'iade their passage. This is quite important in the s1 ecial connection in which I have shown my machine in this case, e thereby the superintendent or manag r is enabled at the end of the day to understand exactly the regularity with which or the order in which the work of the day I may have been done by the operatives. By the same means he is enabled, also, to tell whether the standard weight was passed over the scale-platform at the proper times for the i purpose of ptmiodically registering the standl ard lines for measurement on the indicator- I card.

Having now so fully explained the novel i features of construction and mode of operai tion of my improved machine and stated its l main advantages, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l 1. The combination, with the traclccanis of a railway, of the slightly-deprossiblc plat form suspended within asuitable frame-work sn 'iported by said track-beams, and provided with rails which form continuations of those I secured to said track-beams, a sys tem of le- J vers from which said depressible platform is suspended, and which is sustained by said I 'ramenvorli, and means for registering the ex- 1 of the longer arm of the I final lever of said system, all substantially as and for the purpose set iorth.

2. In combination withthedepressible plati form I), a system of levers from which it is l justable resistant spring suspended, and a scale-beam provided with a suitable resistant for indicating the extent of movement of said platform, a uniformly-rotated drum or wheel, M, (moved by any suitable mechanism within or without said drum,) and a marking device on the scalebeam to register the movements of the latter on the face of said drum, whereby I am enabled to not only register the measurementqnarks of all weights passed over the platform D, but am also enabled to ascertain the exacttimes at which said loads or any of them may have made their passage over the weighing apparatus.

3. In combination with the tran'iway and the depressible platform suspended within a frame-work supported on said tramway, the system of levers, including the scalehcam G, supported by said frame -work, and from which said platform is suspended, and the ad I, adapted to have its tension regulated so that the machine will not begin to operate under any less load than the minimum weight of the loads to be carried over the tramway, all substantially as hereinbefore explained.

1 In combination with the scale-beam G, the registering-drum Ill, and a suitable marker device applied to the scale-beam, a guide or keeper bar, ,7, and a suitable anti-friction roller mounted on the scale-beam and traveling against the face of said keeper-bar, in substantially the manner and for the purpose hereinbet'ore explained.

in witness whereof I have hereunto hand this 31st day of August, 1886.

ALEXANDER 1E. BROWN. presence of- E. T. SoovILL, tnas. W. KELLY.

set my

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