US721879A - Scale. - Google Patents

Description

PATBNTED MAR. 3, 1903.

E. FINN.

SCALE.

APPLICATION nun no.3, 1900. nnxswnn JAN. 5. 1903.

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UNITE STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

EDXVIN FINN, OF ELKHART, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO WALTER F. STIMPSON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 721,879, dated March 3, 1903. Application filed December 3,1900. Renewed January 5,1903. Serial Ito-137.949. (No model.)

To all whom it 77mg; concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN FINN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elkhart, in the county of Elkhart and State of Indiana,

haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Scales, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates particularly to locking means for securing the poise of a computingscale beam. It is common to employsmooth beams in scales of this type to facilitate the movement of the poise; and my object is to provide a simple device for effectively locking the poise in any position when it is desired to do so.

One form of locking device embodying my improvement is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

A represents a revoluble computing-scale 2o beam supplied with a computingcard a, and B a poise supplied with an improved locking device b. The beam shown is of a now wellknown construction having a metallic rectangular frame, which receives the comput- 2 5 ing-card. The metallic frame has smooth side faces and smooth edges, and, as is common in this construction, the beam passes through the poise. The card is shown provided with weight-indicating characters l and 2, giving a capacity of two pounds, and

with graduations subdividing the pound-graduations into twentieths of a pound. The poise is shown with price-indicating characters 20, 30, and 40, and at suitable in- 3 5 tervals the card is supplied with cost-indicating characters 5, l0, 15, &c. Thus in the first horizontal line of graduations, which is the line along which the price-indicating character 20 is moved, the figure 4o 5 appears adjacent to the line on the card which indicates one-fourth of a pound, this being the price of one-fourth of a pound at twenty cents a pound. The other computations are arrived at in the same manner.

The beam and poise here shown are of a well-known general construction, my invention residing wholly in the novel locking device employed in connection with the poise.

The locking-device 1) comprises a compara 5o tively stiff spring, which passes through a slot b in the poise and is pivotally connected at one end by means of a pivot 19 to one side of the poise. The free end of the spring is provided with a friction-lug 12 which may be brought into contact with the metallic frame of the beam to lock the poise in position. Preferably a perforation b is provided for receiving said lug. The locking device is normally out of engagement with the beam in the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1. The full lines show the position when the poise islocked to the beam. Both the exposed portion of the spring and the concealed portion thereof lie substantially parallel with the poise and occupy but small space. As shown in Fig. 2, there is ample room between a side of the poise and the computing-card for the spring to lie in. When the poise is locked,

the friction member in use is in engagement with the adjacent portion of the beam-frame, and when the poise is unlocked the free ends of the friction members bear upon adjacent portions of the poise. To look or unlock the poise, therefore, it is only necessary to swing the friction member which chances to be on the side of the poise which is being used.

It is customary to provide computations on both sides of the card and to provide price- -indicating characters on both sides of the poise. Accordingly it is desirable to provide a second locking device, a duplicate of the .one described, at the opposite edge of the beam and on the reverse side of the beam. This is illustrated in Fig. 2, and it is only necessary to remark that the characters on the re verse side of the card are reversed from the characters shown in order that they may appear right side up when the beam is revolved to bring the reverse side to the view of the user. 0

The device may be varied in minor details of construction, the essential feature being that of a frictional member for engaging the metallic frame of the beam, said member being carried by the poise and preferably con- 5 nected therewith by a pivot perpendicular to a side of the poise. 7

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination witha computing-scale rco beam, of a poise through which said beam passes, and a friction member carried by said poise and held out of engagement with the beam by the poise during movement thereof and serving to engage a smooth metallic portion of the beam when it is desired to lock the poise, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a com puting-scale beam having a smooth rectangular frame, a hollow rectangular poise through which said frame extends, and a friction member connected with a side of said poise near an end thereof by a pivot perpendicular to said side and bearing upon the poise during movement of the poise and movable into engagment with a lateral surface of the adjacent portion of said frame for locking the poise, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a beam of the character described and a poise of the character described, ofa friction member pivoted to said poise on a pivot perpendicular to a side thereof and bearing upon the poise during movement of the poise, said poise being provided with a perforation through which a portion of said friction member extends and said friction member being movable into engagement with the beam for locking the poise, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with a scale-beam having a smooth surface, of a poise movable longitudinally of said beam, and a spring carried by said poise and movable into and out of engagement with said beam and bearing upon the poise during movement of the poise, substantially as described.

5. The combination With a beam of the character described and a poise of the character described, of a pivoted spring carried by said poise and held out of engagement with the beam by said poise, said spring be ing movable into engagement with the beam for locking the poise, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination with abeam and poise of the character described, of friction members connected with said poise at opposite ends of the poise and on opposite sides of the poise and movable into engagement with the adjacent portions of the beam and out of engagement with the beam during movement of the poise, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

E DWIN FINN.

In presence of D. W. LEE, ALBERT D. BAOOI.

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