US624518A - Combined coin-controlled weighing-scale - Google Patents

Description

No. 624,5!8. Patented May 9, I899.

G. G. S. MERRY. COMBINED COIN CONTROLLED WEIGHING SCALE, GRIP, AND LIFTING MACHINE.

(Application filed Aug. 29, 1898.) (No Model.) 5 sheets sheet I.

INVBNTURi No. 624,5l8. Patented May 9, I899. G. G. S. MERRY. COMBINED OOIN CONTROLLED WEIGHING SCALE, GRIP, AND LIFTING MACHINE.

(Application filed Aug. 29, 1898.) (No Model.) 5 SheetsShaet 2.

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mi. s24,5|a. Patented May 9, I899. a. a. s. MERRY. COMBINED COIN CONTROLLED WEIGHING SCALE, GRIP, AND LIFTING MACHINE.

(Application filed Aug. 29, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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No. s24,5|a. Patented May 9,1999. 9. 9. s. mznnv.

CONBINEO COIN CONTROLLED WEICHINC SCALE, GRIP, ANO LIFTING MACHINE.

(Application filed Aug. 99, 189B.)

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No. 624,5l8. Patented May 9,- 1899..

G. G. S. MERRY. GOIBINED COIN BONTBDLLED WEIGI'IING SCALE, GRIP, AND LIFTING MACHINE.

(Avplicltion fllod Aug. 99, 1898.)

(No Model.) 5 Shouts-Shoat 5.

l llllllllllllllllllllllll lll UNITED STATES PATENT O FIc GEORGE G. S. MERRY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AU- TOMATIC WVEIGHING, LIFTING, AND GRIP MACHINE COMPANY, OF PORT- LAND, MAINE.

COMBINED COIN-CONTROLLED WEIGHING-SCALE, GRI P, AND LIFTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,518, dated May 9, 1899.

. Application filed August 29,1898. Serial No. 689,727. (No model.)

T aZZ whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE G. S. MERRY, of Boston, in the county of Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Coin-Controlled \VeighingScale, Grip, and Lifting Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a coin-released [o weighing-scale mechanism and devices incombination therewith whereby in the same scalecase and with the same dial or index gripping and lifting strength tests may be made and indicated, these last two functions being accom plished bya mechanism released bya coin from a single chute, and said mechanism operatingin turn portions of the weighing mechanism sufficiently to indicate the gripping and lifting power in suitable units. Each of the devices may be operated independently, yet the weighing mechanism is the base for the operation of the others.

The invention has for its object to provide improvements in the construction and opera- 2 tion of machines suchas that described in I Letters Patent of the United States No. (510,766, granted to me September 13, 1898.

The nature and operation of the device will be understood by those conversant with such matters from the following description.

, Of the drawings accompanying this specification, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved combination-machine. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the parts inside the case in the upper portion thereof, this view being a section taken just behind the dial. Fig. 3 represents asectional view taken at right angles to the section in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents a front elevation of the parts iminediately concerned in the weighing operations of the machine. Fig. 5 represents an enlarged sectional view of parts shown in Fig. 3, taken on the line of the operating shaft or spindle. Fig. 6 represents adetail plan view of parts shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 represents an enlarged front elevation of parts having to do with the lifting and gripping operations of the machine. Fig. 8 represents a detail elevation of one end of the register employed in the machine.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

Referring to the drawings, a is the case of the machine,which is of the general form common to machines of this class and has the platform I), mounted on the ordinary tilting beam, '(not shown,) which connects with the index mechanism by a rod 1), as is customary in all I machines of this kind. -On the front of the case-head is adial 0, so spaced and numbered that the needle or pointer 0 may indicate through two revolutions. On one side of the case is a coin-chute a for operating the weighing mechanism, and on the other side of the case is a second coin-chute a for operating the lifting and gripping mechanisms. Inside of the case is a frame (1 for supporting the operating mechanism.

I will first describe the weighing mechanism proper, which is best shown in Fig. 4.

At the upper end of the rod 1), on the stud b is pivoted an equalizing-bar b to which are attached the lower ends of two helical springs 1) b the upper ends of these latter being attached to a second equalizing-bar b pivoted at b to a lever 29. Said lever is pivoted at b to the case and is provided with an adjusting-screw b whereby a Very delicate adjustment of the springs may be attained. There is journaled in the frame at a sectional shaft ee, whose outer section ecarries the index-finger c. On the rear end of this shaft is secured a pinion f, which gears with a vertical rack f, guided between rollers f f At the lower end of the rack is a downwardly-extending rod f .having a re silient connection with the rack f by means of the spring f. The rear section 6 of the central shaft or spindle is normally locked by means of a dog f pivoted on a stud f and 0 having a tooth f which engages either one 'of' two teeth f f formed on adisk j", which is secured to the shaft e.

When a person steps on the platform of the scale to be weighed, the bar I) is depressed 5 and the springs 19 are distended an amount proportional to the weight of the person. The rod has adjustably attached to it by means of screws b Z2 a shelf or bracket b This bracket upon the depression of the rod I00 b retreats from the lower end of the bar f this latter and the rack f being sustained by the locking of the dog f and disk 1. The person then deposits a coin in the chute a, and said coin falls and strikes against a trip f pivoted at f to the frame I), and carrying a counterbalancing-weightf The coin passes the trip f" and in doing so raises its right-hand end, Fig. 4:. The latter .is offset at f, and the offset portion takes under an extension f of the dog f fore raised as the coin passes the trip and the shaft is released. The rack f then falls by gravity until the lowerend ofthe rodf strikes against the shelf 11 the springf yielding to the impact. The dial-hand is therefore caused to move around the dial and indicate the weight of the person.

f is a lever pivoted atf to the frame and carrying. at its forward end. three pivoted pawls f and at its rear end a counterbalancing-weight f. The left or pawl end of this lever is normaily held in a raised position by means of a plate 1;,adj ustably mounted on the upper end of the rod I)". hen said rod is depressed, the lever f loses its support, and its left end falls upon the end of a short lever f pivoted at f to the frame. The latter is connected by a wire or cord f with a second trip-leverf located at the extreme lowerend of the coin-chute. This second trip is pivoted at f' in a bracket a inside the case a and carries a counterbalancingweight f. In the time taken by the coin to pass from the upper trip f to the lower trip f the dial-hand has come to rest at a point which indicates the weight of the person, and the passage of the coin past the tripf lifts the right-hand end of the lever f causing the lever f to be released and allowing the pawlsf to fall against the periphery of a toothed or ratchet wheel f secured on the shaft-section c. This looks the said shaftsection against further rotation in either direction. The trip-leverf being heaviest at its inner end tends to assume the normal position illustrated in Fig. 4, with said end slightly overlapped by the end of the pawlleverf The latter, when unsupported by the plate I), rests on the leverf" until the passage of the coin tilts the latter and raises its inner end, causing the end of pawl-lever f to slip by said lever f and permitting the pawl-lever to drop until its pawls engage the toothed'wheel f. The en d of the pawl-lever is then underneath the end of leverf The pawlsf are pivoted in an offset portion of the lever 1", as represented in Fig. 5, and

their free ends are normally supported by a stop-pin f in said offset portion. hen the lever falls, its offset portion rests against the top edge of the frame (1, and the free ends of the pawls are slightly raised by engagement with the toothed wheel f one or more of said pawls resting between the teeth of said wheel. The pawl-leverf when again raised by the plate I) on the scale-rod b, slips past The dog is therethe end of the trip-lever f slightly elevat- I ing the same in so doing, and the parts reassume their normal position. (Illustrated in Fig. 4.)

Thejobject of providing a plurality of pawls f is to insure an immediate engagementwith the ratchet-wheel f since if only one pawl were employed it might rest on the top of a ratchet-tooth and fail to perform its locking function properly.

The shaft-section c remains locked until the person steps off the scale-platform and allows the plate Z) to rise and elevate the pawl-supporting lever f. The dial-hand c is then returned to the zero-point by means of a light spring f, supported by a fixed standard f and connected with a cord f which winds around the forward section 0 of the shaft. As the rod Z) rises to its normal position the spring-tensioned rod f is forced upwardly, compressingits spring f until the shaft 6 is'unlocked, when the rack f returns to its normal position by the force of said spring, and the dog f falls into place over the teeth f and locks the shaft.

The sectional shaft mechanism is organized as follows: The opposed ends of the sections e c'are provided with iixed collars c 6 and adjacent to said collars are loose collars 6 e Behind the loose collar 0 on the section 6 is a loose sleeve 9. The loose collar 6 has'a forwardly-projecting horizontal pin c engaginga radial pin 0 on the fixed collar 6 of the shaft'section e, and the fixed collar ofthe shaft-section c has a radial pin a engaging the pin ei' The sleeve g has a horizontal pin 6" engaging the pin 6 and also a pin 6 mounted on the loose collar 8 The latter has a pin 6 engaging a stop-pin 6 It will be noted that this arrangement permits the dial-finger o to have two revolutions, due to a rotation of the sleeve g, before being stopped by the fixed pin 0, for when the sleeve starts to revolve the pin 6 and with it the pointer are carried around and the front end of the pin 6 comes around behind the pin 6 and engages. the same after a complete revolution of the parts. The collar (2 may then be carried around for another complete revolution until finally the limit is reached by the pin 6 striking against the fixed pin 6 The sleeve g is provided with a pinion g, which gears with a vertical rack 9 The latterv is held in a swinging frame g pivoted on a stud 9 being guided in its vertical movement by rollers g g 9 On the lower end of the rack is pivoted at g a pawl 9 having stops g g to limit its motion. When the lower end of the rack g is moved to the right, this pawl engages with teeth formed on a ratchet-bar 9 the latter being mounted to slide between rcilers g" and attached at its lower end to a bracket 12 on the rod Z). The pawl g is normally held out of engagement with said ratchet-bar by means of a lever g, pivoted at g to the frame d and notched at g to engage the upper end of the pivotal frame When said lever g is raised to release the frame g a spring g draws the latter to the right, so as to bring the pawl 9 into engagement with the ratchet-bar Q12.

At the base of the case a is pivoted a bracket j, adapted to swing horizontally out over the scale-platform b and carrying at its outer end a handlej, mounted at the top of a screwspindlej By screwing this spindleinto or out of its socket in the end of the bracketj the handlej may be raised or lowered to suit the convenience of the operator. The effect of pulling up on the handle j, which is fixed relatively to the case ct, is to increase the pressure on the scale-platform I) over that due to the weight of the operator. When a person steps on the platform to determine his lifting strength, the bar Z) and with it the ratchet-bar g are depressed a certain distance. In order then to release the lifting mechanism, the person deposits a coin in the right-hand chute a and the same falls down the chute and displaces a triplever g, which is pivoted at g to the frame (7, and is pro- -vided on an extension Q21 with a counterbalancing-weight Such movement of the trip g raises the lever 9 releasing the frame g and causing the engagement of the pawl g with the ratchet-teeth g. The person as soon as he deposits the coin grasps the handle g and pulls up thereon to determine his strength. This causes a depression of the platform I) and the rod with its ratchet-bar 9 and as a consequence the rack g is depressed and the pinion g and a sleeve g rotated. The said sleeve 9 being in engagement, as previously described, with the front section e of the central shaft causes the latter and the pointer c to revolve and indicate the lifting strength of the person. In order to keep the indicator of the dial-hand at the farthest point reached and not allow it to return, I provide a brake consisting of a roll Q22, (see Fig. 7,) confined between the front boss of the sleeve g and a cross-piece cl on the frame (1, said roll being further retained by a removable screw (1 This roll allows the sleeve g to rotate freely in a forward direction; but should the latter reverse its movement the roll becomes wedged in the tapering recess formed between the sleeve 9 and the cross-piece cl and prevents the reverse rotation of said sleeve. The dial-hand therefore stays at the highest point reached until the person steps off the platform. WVhen he does so, the ratchet-bar 9 rises and a pin g thereon engages the free end of a lever g pivoted at 9 to the frame. Said lever g carries a hook or staple which takes under the roll Q22 and lifts the same a slight distance, as represented in Fig. 7, thus allowing the sleeve 9 to reverse its rotation. The-sleeve is returned to its initial position by means of a spring Q27, supported by a fixed standard Q28 and attached to a cord g, which winds around the sleeve. At the lower end of rack g from its engagement with the ratchetbar Q12 when the operator ceases to lift on the handle j, for the ratchet-segment being eccentrically pivoted with its longest radius at the lower corner a relative upward movement of the ratchet-bar with respect to the rack g will cause this ratchet-- segment Q30 to turn on its pivot and force the pawl g out of engagement with the ratchetteeth A continuation of the upward movement of the ratchet-bar brings the upper end of. the frame 9 into line with the notch g in the pivoted arm 9 and the latter engages and holds said frame, as shown in Fig. 7. It is hence apparent that the operator will haveto exert a steadylifting force in order to test his full strength, since any cessation of pull willcause the mechanism to cease to register.

2' is a register mounted inside the case and constructed to register the total number of coins deposited in the machine. It has a ratchet-wheel i on the end of its spindle and an actuating-pawl 1' mounted on a pivoted block, which has an arm 1' extending into the coin-chute a'and adapted to be displaced by coins falling therethrough, and alsoan arm 2' engaged by a lower extension of the trip 9, whereby the register is operated by coins falling through the chute a The grip-testing mechanism forming part of the machine is operated by means of a handle 72, rigidly mounted ata convenient height on the outside of the case a, and a grip h, having gi'iiding-legs which extend inside the case. On the upper one of said legs is mounted an adjustable block h abutting against a spring 71 The said block is connected by a strap h, passing overa guide-pulley h, with the lower end of a connecting-rod h, which connects with a vertical sliding rod I1 suitably guided in the frame and normally held in raised position bymeans of a spring h interposed between a collar h on the top of the rod and a lug d on the frame. This rod It has a conical lower end h adapted to engage a conical depression 9 formed in a lug g extending laterally from the lower end of the rack 9 Normally the rod 72, is free to move up and down without encountering the lug 9 so that a person grasping the handle it and grip h will force the latter inwardly without operating the index; but when a coin is deposited in the chute a the pivotal frame g is released, as before described, and the lower end of the rack g is drawn to the right. This brings the conical depression 9 underneath the lower end of the rod h and then when the operator actuates the grip the said rod h in moving downwardly engages the lug and draws the rack g downwardly, so

as to rotate the dial-hand and give an indication of the persons gripping strength. The strength of the spring 71 is made such as to indicate the grip in units corresponding to those marked on the dial. it is a detent pivoted at h in a collar h flwhich is secured on the rod 71 This detent in moving downwardly when the rod engages the lug yields to pass a stud g on the frame g being turned on its pivot as it passes the stud, and then reassu ming a horizontal position. If the tension. of the grip is released, the rod 77, moves upwardly with respect to the frame g and its rack, and the detenth being constructed to act rigidly against the stud g in this movement displaces the lower end of the frame g laterallyand brings its upper end into engagement with the notch g in the arm g It will be noted that when a coin is deposited in the chute a both the lifting and gripping mechanisms are put into operative condition, so that either the one or the other may be operated at the choice of the person on the scale-platform.

It is necessary to stand on the platform of the machine when the gripping mechanism is operated, since otherwise the brake-roll Q22 will not act, and hence the dial-hand will immediately return when the pressure is released instead of staying at the highest point reached.

I claim- 1. In a coin-controlled weighing-scale, the combination with the shaft carrying the toothed wheel f coin-released means normally locking said shaft, and means for locking said shaft after rotation, comprising the lever f carrying a plurality of pivoted pawls 0 f adapted to engage the toothed wheel, and

a coin-actuated member adapted to operate said lever and allow the pawls to fall upon said toothed wheel.

2. In a coin-controlled weighing-scale, the combination of the index-shaft, coin-released means for normally locking said shaft, a looking member for locking said shaft after rotation,the lever f 19 adapted to sustain said locking member, the coin-actuated trip f and the connection f between said trip and the lever f ,whereby the latter is moved to release the locking-lever upon the passage of a com.

3. In a machine of the class described, an index-shaft and coin-controlled actuating mechanism therefor, in combination with the friction-brake roll 9 the releasing-lever Q23, and the spring-scale mechanism carrying a part for engaging the lever and releasing the brake at a predetermined pointin the passage of said part.

4. In a machine of the class described, the spring-scale mechanism carrying the ratchetbar, an index, a sliding rackadapted to actuate said shaft and having a pawl adapted to engage the ratchet-bar, a swinging frame carrying the rack, a spring normally actuating the frame in a direction to cause engagement between rack and ratchet-bar, a coinoperated latch for holding the two out of engagement, and a member carried on the lower end of the rack and adapted to be moved by the retraction of the ratchet-bar, so as to automatically disengage said rack and ratchetbar and latch the former.

5. In a machine of the class described, a reciprocating main ratchet, a reciprocating secondary ratchet, an index, an oscillatory sliding rack adapted to actuate said index and carrying a member which engages the main ratchet when said rack is oscillated; and a ratchet-segment pivoted eccentrically 011 the rack and adapted to engage the secondary ratchet and to be rotated by the traverse of the latter so as to disengage the member on the rack from the main ratchet.

6. In a machine of the class described, the grip-actuated sliding bar,in combination with the swinging frame carrying the shaft-actuating rack, the coin-operated latch therefor, means for producing engagement between the sliding bar and the rackwhen said frame is unlatched, and means operated by the retraction of the bar for disengaging said bar and rack.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE G. S. MERRY.

\Vitnesses:

O. F. BROWN, E. BATCHELDER.

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