US788829A - Automatic weighing-machine. - Google Patents

Description

No. 788,829. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

J. HIGKEY.

AUTOMATIC WE'IGHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2,1902.

4 SHEETS-SHEETL WITNESSES. I INVENTOR ATTORNEY No. 788,829. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

J. HIOKEY.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1902.

4 SHEBTS-SKEET 2.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORN EY No. 788,829. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

J. HICKEY.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1902.

4 SHEETBSHBBT 3.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR ATTORNEY No. 788,829. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905. J. vHICKEY.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2, 1902.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

l m l INVENTOR 5/ BY E W ATTORNEY UNITED STATES Patented May 2, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HICKEY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF FIFTY-FIVE ONE-HUNDREDTHS TO THE AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL COMPANY, OF NEIV LONDON, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,829, dated May 2, 1905. Application filed June 2,1902. $erial No. 109,918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN HICKEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Weighing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for automatically weighing granular, pulverulent, and analogous materials adapted to flow in astream from a hopper or bin, and has for one of its objects to provide improved valvular mechanism at the bin or hopper for controlling the flow of material and also improved trip connections between the valve mechanism and the beam of an ordinary platform weighing-scale whereby the'valve mechanism may be conveniently adjusted or set to permit the stream of material to flow to a bag or other receptacle and whereby the valve mechanism may be automatically actuated to cut off said flow effectually at any predetermined time by the action of thescale-beam.

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby the opening or setting of the valve mechanism will effect simultaneously and automatically an operative connection between the scale-beam and the trip mechanism by which the valve mechanism is supported and also released.

To these main ends and others, which will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the various features of construction and combinations of devices hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front View showing the scale, the delivery end of a bin, and my improved valve mechanism and trip mechanism connected therewith. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the valve mechanism and the hopper with which it is used. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of Fig. 2, but showing more of the upper portion of the hopper and of the valve-stems. Fig. A is a side elevation of a part of the main bin or hopper and of the hopper containing the valve mechanism. Fig.

5 is an enlarged front view of the trip mechanism and a portion of the scale. Fig. 6 is a side or face view of the same, but omitting the scale.

In the various views the same part will be found designated by the same numeral of reference.

1 is the bottom or delivery end of a bin, and 2 is a hopper bolted or secured at the lower end of the bin. The hopper comprises a sharplyinclined bottom or wall 3 and angular sides 4. At the front of the hopper and at each side thereof is a guideway 5, preferably secured to the bottom 3 and extending upwardly therefrom. Each said guideway is formed or provided with three parallel grooves 6 to accommodate the ends of three slides, gates, or valves 7, 8, and 9.

About midway the length of each slide or valve is secured the lower end of a stem or rod. The stem or rod attached to the valve or slide 7 is marked 10, the one connected with the valve 8 is marked 11, and the one connected with the valve 9 is marked 12. Attached to the upper ends of the valve-stems 10 and ll are chains or flexible connections (marked,

respectively, 13 and 14,) which extend to the trip mechanism to be presently described.

To the middle valve-stem 11 is secured a handle 15, which is formed with an eye 16, that surrounds said stem, and is perforated and threaded for the passage of a binding-screw 17 by which the handle is secured to the stem. Forward of the eye 16 the handle is also provided with a perforated boss or eye 18, through which the valve-stem 10 passes freely. Above said handle the valve-stem 10 is provided with a collar 19, which is held in place by a binding screw or bolt 20. The said collar and the said handle may be adjusted on their respective rods to any desired positions, so as to determine or regulate the relative times or extents of opening and closing of the valves 7 and 8, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The upper ends of the valve-stems are supported and guided in a perforated plate or bracket 21, which may be secured to an upright wall or plate 22 and which is sustained by braces 23. Each valve-stem above said plate or bracket 21 is provided with an adjustable collar 24, held by a set-screw, for limiting the descent or downward movement of said stem, and, if desired, said stem may be provided beneath said collar with a rubber washer 26 to cushion or deaden the stoppage of the valve and valve-stem.

The valve or slide 9 is relatively fixed-that is to say, when the apparatus is in operation the said valve or slide has no movement; but it may be moved or adjusted up and down, so as to increase the distance or space between its lower edge and the inclined bottom or wall 3 of the hopper. Said valve, however, is never so adjusted as to close the hopper at this 10- cality. The lower edge of said valve by its distance from the bottom '3 determines the size of the mouth of the hopper, and hence by adjusting the valve up or down this mouth or opening may be enlarged or reduced, so as to regulate the flow of material. This adjustment is effected by loosening the bolt and moving the collar up or down, as may be necessary, and then retightening the collar in its adjusted position. It will also be observed in Fig. 3 that the lower edge of the middle valve 8 when in normal position does not touch the bottom 3, but terminates a slight distance above the same, which in practice may be three-fourths of an inch, more or less. This space may be increased or diminished by adjustment of the valve-stem 11that is to say, if the space between the lower edge of the valve 8 and the bottom 3 is to be increased the collar is loosened, the valve-stem raised the required distance, and the collar then retightened at a point lower down on the stem, and, on the other hand, if the valve is to be brought nearer the bottom 3 the stem is permitted to move down slightly and the collar then tightened again at a point nearer the upper end of the stem. In any case. however, I prefer that the bottom of the valve should not touch the bottom of the hopper.

The lower end of the valve 7 or final closing valve to the hopper does not contact at its lower edge with the floor or bottom 3 of the hopper, but is arranged to slide in front of the forward lowermost edge of the bottom 3, as illustrated at Fig. 3, and which enables a more perfect cut off or stoppage of the flow of material than is possible where the valve comes down on the face of the bottom 3, although in so far as some features of my invention are concerned the valve 7 maybe arranged to close in the manner last described. The valves 7 and 8 may be provided at their lower portions with strips or bars of metal 27 to increase their weight and cause them to close more promptly.

The chain 13, connected to the upper end of the valve-stem 10, passes up over a pulley 28, mounted on a beam 29, thence across over a pulley 30, and thence down to an arm or lever 31, to the lower end of which it is pivotally connected through a link 32. The chain 14, connected to the stem 11, likewise passes over separate pulleys 28 and 30 and connects, through a link 32, with an arm or lever 33. The arms or levers 31 and 33 are pivotally supported at their upper ends by a pin 34, mounted in bearings at the upper end of an upright plate 35, which is slotted at 36 for the accommodation of said levers. The said plate is supported by a right-angle bracket '36, which is secured at one end to the fixed horizontal arm of the scale.

The lower ends of the arms 31 and 33 are provided with hooks or catches 37 and 37", which are pivoted at 38 and play each between two stops 39, formed on each lever. The free ends of the hooks or catches 37 and 37 are adapted to pass through openings 40 in the plate 35 and cooperate, respectively, with the shorter arms of trip- levers 41 and 42, pivoted independently on a pin 43, supported in a bracket 44, bolted to the plate 35 and the bracket 36.

The longer arms of the levers 41 and 42 coact, respectively, with steps or abutments 45 and 46 on one end of atrip-plate 47, which is pivoted at 48 at near the lower end of the plate 35, the opposite and longer end of said trip-plate extending over to and above the free end of the scale-beam 49. The stops or abutments 45 and 46 are preferably made in the form of screws or bolts, so that they may be readily adjusted to time the let-off or tripping action of the levers 41 and 42, and hence the times of closing of the valves. It will be seen that the steps or abutments 45 and 46 constitute means for holding the valves open, and as a matter of convenience and simple construction they are mounted on the tripplates so that when the latter are actuated they serve to trip or disengage these holding means from their respective levers 41 and 42. Depending from the pivot or axis 48 of the trip-plate 47 is a screw-rod 50. having an adjustable weight 51 for purposes which will hereinafter appear. Preferably the trip mechanism is contained within a box or casing 52.

Supported upon the platform of the scale is a framework comprising a bed and twopart or telescopic uprights or standards 53, which at their upper ends support a scalehopper 54. This hopper 54 may be held at any desired height, according to the length of the bag or receptacle to be filled, owing to the telescopic construction of the standards, and when the latter have been adjusted their parts are held firmly in position by set-screws The bottom of the scale-hopper has aflange 56, which is slightly upturned, and the bag to be filled is tucked around this flange and partially supported thereby, but is held mainly by hooks 57 on the side of the hopper.

In operation the valve 9 is first set or addownward movements of the valves 7 and 8.

Furthermore, the handle 15 and collar 19 are likewise relatively adjusted to determine the extent of upward or opening movement of the valve 8 before the beginning of the upward or opening movement of the valve 7, which it controls, in a measure, through the handle 15. Moreover, the screw stops or abutments 45 and 46 are also adjusted relatively to the levers 41 and 42 and valves 7 and 8, so as to enable the valves to be tripped or released at different-times and one after the other at predetermined periods. The sliding weight 58 on the scale-beam havingalso been adjusted to permit the scale-beam to rise when a predetermined weight of material has flowed into the bag or receptacle, the attendant or operator will then by means of the handle lift the valve 8 until the hub or eye 18 of the handle strikes the collar 19 and then by a further movement lift the valve 7 the required distance to open the hopper 4. In lifting the valve 8 and its stem 11 the chain 14 is slackened, the arm 33 swings downwardly, and the hook 37 moves forwardly through the plate 35 to cooperate with the lever 42, which rests against a back-stop formed by its. supportingbracket. In this movement of the hook its nose or beveled end first strikes the short arm of the lever 42 and then, vibrating about its pivot 38, rides up over said short arm, and at the completion of the forward movement of the hook 37 the shouldered part thereof engages the outer side of the shorter arm of the lever and swings the free end of the longer arm of said lever over to press against said screw. Subsequently when in the continued movement of the handle 15 the valve 7 andits stem 10 are lifted thechain 13 is slackened, the arm 31 drops, and its hook 37, swinging through the opening in the plate 35, acts similarly upon the lever 41 and finally catches the shorter arm of said lever and causes thelonger arm thereof to bear against the screw 45 on the trip-plate 47, which latter at its opposite end then bears upon the upper side of the scale-beam 49. In this way thevalves 7 and 8 are locked or held in their upper or open positions, the gravity of the valves, acting through the chains and the arms 31 and 33 and the hooks 37 and 37 causing the longer arms of the levers 41 and 42 to press against the screws or abutments 45 and 46, which hold said valves in their uplifted positions.

It will be observed from the foregoing that when the attendant lifts the valves to the required extent they become automatically locked or held in their lifted positions.

\Vhen, now, the bag or other receptacle has received a sufiicient weight of material from the hopper to cause a vibration of the scalebeam, the trip mechanism will be actuated by the latter and thevalves will be caused to descend one after the other to close the hopper gradually and stop the flow of material, the valve 8 being released first and the valve 7 subsequently. When the scale-beam rises, it causes the inner arm of the trip-plate 47 to ascend with it and the outer arm, carrying the screws 45 and 46, to descend or move away from the trip and holding levers 41 and 42; but the screw 46 being shorter or having less projection than the screw 45, as shownin Fig. 6, it will in consequence release the lever 42 before the screw 45 will release the lever 41, and hence the lever 42 will trip first and swing to the position shown at Fig. 5, and simultaneously the valve 8 will descend and pull the arm 33 up to the position shown in Fig. 5, the descent of the valve being arrested by the collar 24 and its interposed cushion 26, as shown at Fig. 3. As the scalebeam continues to rise the screw 45 will at a subsequent and proper time release the lever 41, and the moment this is effected said lever will fly to a position similar to that shown at Fig. 5 and the arm 31 will swing up to a position similar to that occupied by the arm 33 in Fig. 5 and the lower end of the valve 7 will drop past the edge of the bottom 3 and stop the flow of material from the hopper, all as indicated at Fig. 3, wherein the valves are shown in the positions which they occupy when the flow of material is cut ofl'. In Fig. 1 the valves are shown in their raised positions and the holding and tripping devices in operative position to maintain the valves raised.

The relatively fixed door or valve 9 not only determines the size of the mouth of the hopper 2, but it acts to relieve the valves 7 and 8 of the pressure of the flowing material,said valves at the time when the material is flowing being raised so that their lower edges are about in line with the lower edge of the fixed door or valve. Therefore one of the main purposes of the latter is to prevent the material from pressing against either of the valves 7 or 8, and which, if permitted, would retard the closing or downward movement of said valve, which would he objectionable, since it is essential that the valve close with the utmost freedom and celerity when tripped by the scale-beam, so as not to permit an excessive or undue flow of material from the hopper. By the present construction the valves cut off the stream of flowing material gradually, but promptly, and hence the automatic weighing may be accomplished with exactness.

The valve 8 is preferably not permitted to close all the way, and thus suddenly check the flow of material, but only to nearly close, so as to reduce the size of the stream passing at said valve, and thus make it comparatively easy for the valve 7 to completely stop the flow when it descends subsequently.

When the filled bag or receptacle is removed from the scales, the beam 49 will descend in consequence of the weight 58, and the tripplate 47 will vibrate back to normal horizontal position on account of the presence of the adjustable depending weight 51, which will maintain said plate in proper position to enable the levers 41 and 42 to engage the screwstops 45 and 46 when the valves are again lifted or reset. The said weight 51, which in practice is about one I pound, serves also another useful purposenamel,v, it delays or retards slightly the tripping off of the second lever and which might otherwise occur prematurely by reason of strain or shock. As said weight at the tripping of the first lever is swinging upwardly from the normal vertical position it adds a slight resistance to the rise of the scale-beam and acts to steady and retard the further movement 'of the trip-plate. If the retardation is too great or the resistance too much, the weight is screwed up nearer the axis of the plate; but if the resistance is not enough the weight is screwed down. At Fig. 5 the view represents the scale-beam as having partially risen and vibrated the tripplate 47 and caused the weight 51 to ascend,

and thus add resistance to the beam and the trip-plate, as and for the purposes above stated.

It will be seen that by my invention 1 have provided valve mechanism and holding and tripping mechanisms which may be applied to or connected with any suitable bin or hopper and any ordinary platform-scale, and that, excepting for the setting of the valves, my apparatus is adapted to work in an automatic manner.

The levers 41 and 42 are pivoted so as to swing freely, and hence when they have been vibrated upwardly by the hooks in the closing movements of the valves they immediately vibrate backwardly again by their gravity when the hooks become disengaged therefrom, and the lower ends of the longer arms of said levers stand between the screw-abutments on the trip-plate and the pivot of the latter and in proper positions to swing outwardly and press against said screw-abut ments when their shorter arms are next engaged by the pivoted hooks on the arms 31 and 33. Suitable stops are provided for limiting the aforesaid return movements of .the levers 41 and 42 after the tripping action, and hence when the beveled end of either hook strikes the shorter arm of either lever it will cause the hook to rise up over said shorter arm until the shoulder of thehook drops over and engages the opposite side of said arm, the hook being pivoted to permit of this independent movement. When this engagement between the hook and thelever has been effected and the attendant releases the valvelifting handle, the gravity of the valve will cause a slight backward movement of the hook and a forward movement of the longer arm of the lever to swing it over into contact with its associated screw or abutment. The levers 41 and 42 return to normal position before the bag is removed from the scale. When the bag is removed, the trip-plate vibrates back to normal position and the screws are brought to a position to arrest said levers when the Valves are again raised and locked up. i

The trip-plate, its pivot, and the depending weight-carrying rod all move together.

Various changes in detail construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the gist of my invention, and in so far as the holding and tripping mechanism is concerned the same may be employed in connection with valves used in apipe system for measuring and weighing liquids instead of solids and in which the valve mechanism is different in detail construction and arrangement.

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

1. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a gravity-valve at the hopper, means for raising same, and means for holding and tripping said valve, comprising a swinging arm provided with a hook, flexible connections extending from said arm to said valve, a lever adapted to be engaged by said hook, and a pivoted trip-plate adapted to coact with said lever and hold it in engagement with-said hook until said plate is vibrated by the scale-beam.

2. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beanna gravity-valve at the hopper, a pivoted arm flexibly connected with said valve, a hook pivoted on said arm, a lever adapted to be engaged by said hook, and a pivoted trip-plate provided with an abutment to hold said lever against the gravitational tendency of said valve and adapted to be actuated by the rise of the scale-beam.

3. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a gravity-valve at said hopper, an arm connected to said valve, a pivoted hook on said arm, a lever adapted to be engaged by said hook, a pivoted trip-plate provided with an abutment to hold said lever against the gravitational tendency of said valve, and'independent means for restoring the trip-plate to normal position after it has been actuated by the operation of the scale beam.

4. The combination with a scale-beam and a source of supply of material to be weighed, a valve for controlling the How of material therefrom, means for holding said valve open,

trip mechanism, comprising a trip-plate adapted to be actuated by the scale-beam, and

means other than friction for retarding the action of the trip-plate during the releasing movement of the scale-beam.

5. The combination with a scale-beam and a source of supply of material to be weighed, a valve for controlling the flow of material therefrom, means for holding said valve open, trip mechanism, comprising a trip-plate adapted to be actuated by the scale-beam, and a weight connected with the trip-plate that is normally-in its lowest position and is adapted to rise when the trip-plate is actuated by the scale-beam.

6. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a gravity-valve at said hopper, means for holding said valve when raised, trip mechanism comprising a trip plate which is adapted to be actuated by the scale-beam, and means other than friction for retarding the action of the trip-plate during the releasing movement of the scale-beam.

' 7. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a valve at said hopper, means for holding said valve when raised, trip mechanism comprising a trip-plate which is continually in contact with and adapted to be actuated by the scale-beam, and means for maintaining the trip-plate in engagement with the scale-beam and delaying the action of the tripping mechanism during the rise of the scalebeam.

' 8. The combination with a hopper and the scale-beam of a platform-scale, of a valve at said hopper, means for holding said valve when raised, trip mechanism comprisinga pivoted trip-plate which is adapted to be actuated by the scale-beam, and adepending weight connected to said trip-plate for causing the latter to vibrate with the scale-beam when the filled receptacle is removed from the platform.

9. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a valve at said hopper, means for holding said valve when raised, trip mechanism comprising a trip-plate which is adapted to be actuated by the scale-beam, and an adjustable weight normally in vertical position and adapted to rise when the trip-plate is actuated by the scale-beam.

10. The combination with a scale, a hopper, a pair of valves controlling the flow from the hopper, an independent holding means for each of said valves and flexibly connected thereto, and a tripping device operable by the scale and common to both valves, but constructed and arranged to release said valves one after the other.

11. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a pair of valves at said hopper,

an independent holding means for each of said of a hopper arranged above said scale, two

valves at said hopper adapted to be raised and lowered, a pivoted tripping-plate adapted to be vibrated by the scale-beam, and means between said trip-plate and said valves for looking the valves in their raised positions and adapted to unlock and release said valves one after the other when the trip-plate is vibrated by the rise of the scale-beam.

13. The combination with a hopper and a pair of gravity-valves thereat, of a scale-beam, a tripping device at the latter provided with variable let-ofl' devices, and independent means for holding said valves in their raised posi tions, said means including levers which cooperate with said variable let-off devices and which when the tripping device is actuated release the valves one after the other.

14. The combination with a hopper and a pair of valves, a scale-beam, a pair of pivoted arms, flexible connections between said arms and said valves, a hook on each of said arms, a lever adapted to be engaged by each of said hooks, and a pivoted trip-plate adapted to cooperate with said scalebeam and provided with adjustable abutments for said levers, whereby the valves may be held in their raised positions and automatically tripped one ahead of the other.

15. The combination with a hopper,of a pair of valves having each a valve-stem, a handle adjustably secured to one of said stems and an adjustable collar or abutment on the other valve-stem adapted to be acted on by said handle.

16. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of a pair of valves having each a valve-stem, a handle adjustably secured to one of said stems, an adjustable collar or abutment on the other valve-stem adapted to be acted on by said handle, and holding and tripping devices connected with said valve-stems and said scale-beam.

17. The combination of a hopper, a scale-. beam, valves controlling a common outlet, means for holding said valves and tripping them successively, and means other than friction for retarding or delaying the tripping action. v

18. The combination of a hopper, a scalebeam, valves controlling a common outlet, means for holding said valves including a tripping device for tripping said valves successively, said tripping device being adapted to be vibrated by the scale-beam, and means for retaining the tripping device in operative relation with the holding means and scale-beam during the successive tripping actions.

19. The combination of a hopper, a scalebeam, valves controlling a common outlet, means for holding said valves including a tripping device for tripping said valves successively, said tripping device being adapted to be vibrated by said scale-beam, and means for delaying or retarding the action of the trip- IIO ping device and for restoring it automatically to its normal position at the completion of the tripping actions.

20. The combination with a hopper and a scale beam, successively acting valves and mechanism for holding the valves open, including a tripping-plate for both valves, said tripping-plate being in the path of but unconnected with the scale-beam.

21. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, valves, means to hold said valves open comprising a tripping-plate in the path of, but unconnected with the scale-beam and means for preventing one of the valves from closing entirely when tripped,

22. The combination with a hopper and a scale-beam, of valves, means for preventing one of said valves from closing entirely, a valve-holding tripping-plate, means between the valves and said scale-beam, but unconnected with the latter and directly actuated by contact thereof.

23. The combination with a hopper having grooved guideways, valves or gates sliding therein, valve-stems, means for lifting said valves manually. chains extending from said valve-stems to pivoted hook-carrying arms, holding levers to cooperate with said hooks, a tripping-plate cooperating with said levers, a pendent weight cooperating with said tripplate, and a platform-scale having its beam arranged to cooperate with said trip-plate.

24. The combination with a scale-beam, of a valve, means for opening the same, and means for holding and tripping said valve, comprising a pivoted arm provided with a pivoted hook, flexible connections extending from said arm to said valve, a lever adapted to be engaged at one end by said hook, and a pivoted trip-plate adapted to coact with the other end of said lever and with said scale-beam.

25. The combination with a scale-beam, of a valve, a pivoted arm flexibly connected with said valve, a hook pivoted on said arm, a lever adapted to be engaged by said hook, and a pivoted trip-plate provided with an abutment and adapted to be actuated by the rise of the scalebeam.

26. The combination with a scale-beam, of a valve, an arm connected to said valve, a pivoted hook on said arm, a lever adapted to be engaged by said hook, a pivoted trip-plate and independent means for automatically restoring the trip-plate to normal position after it has been actuated by the operation of the scalebeam.

27. The combination with a scale-beam, of a valve, means for holding said valve open, trip mechanism comprising a trip-plate and adapted to be actuated by the scale-beam, and means for retarding the action of the trip-plate by automatically adding increasing resistance thereto and to the scale-beam during the releasing movement of the scale-beam.

28. The combination with a scale-beam, of a pair of valves, means for holding said valves open, trip mechanism comprising a trip-plate which is adapted to be actuated directly by the scale-beam, said trip-plate being provided with means for releasing said valves one after the other and means for maintaining the tripplate in engagement with the scale-beam and gradually increasing the resistance to movement thereof, thus delaying the action of the tripping mechanism during the continued rise of the scale-beam after the first valve has been tripped.

29. The combination with a scale-imam, of a valve, means for holding said valve open, tripping mechanism comprising a trip-plate and adapted to be actuated by the scale-bean'l, and a pendulous weight connected to said tripplate.

30. The combination with a scale, of a valve, means for holding said valve open, tripping mechanism comprising a trip-plate which is adapted to be actuated by a moving part of the scale, and a weight connected with said trip-plate that is normally in its lowest position, and is adapted to rise when the trip-plate is actuated.

31. The combination with a scale-bcam, of a pair of gravity-valves, independent mechanical devices for locking up each of said valves, and a tripping device opposing the gravitational tendency of said valves and operable by the scale-beam and common to both said valves but constructed and arranged to release said valves one after the other.

32. The combination with a scale-beam, of a pair of gravity-valves, a tripping device opposing the gravitational tendency of said valves and operable by the scale-beam, and mechanical devices for locking said valves in their open positions connected with said tripping device and adapted to release said valves one after the other when the tripping device is actuated.

33. The combination of a pair of gravityvalves, a scale-beam, a tripping device at the scale-beam provided with variable let-oil. devices, and independent means for holding said valves in their open positions, said means including levers which through the weight of the valves press against the said variable letoff devices and which when the tripping device is actuated release the valves one after the other.

3 The combination of a pair of valves, a scale-beam,a pair of pivoted arms, flexible connections between said arms and said valves, a hook on each of said arms, a lever adapted to be engaged by each of said hooks, and a pivoted trip-plate adapted to cooperate with said scale-beam and provided with adjustable abutments for said levers whereby the valves may be held in their open positions and automatieally tripped one ahead of the other.

35. The combination of a pair of valves placed one back of the other, a stem for each valve, a handle attached to the stem of the inner valve and having an opening for the passage of the stem of the other valve, and a collar on the latter so arranged as to coact with said handle after the valve having the handle has been opened a predetermined distance, and thus enable the other of said valves to be opened byafurther movement of such handle.

36. The combination of a hopper, a gravityvalve at said hopper, a separable locking mechanism at said scale, a flexible connection between said valve and said locking mechanism, the parts of said locking mechanism being maintained in locking relationship by the weight of said valve when raised, and a scalebeam adapted to separate the parts of said locking mechanism and permit the valve to drop.

37. The combination of a hopper, a pair of gravity-valves at said hopper, separable looking mechanism at said scale for each of said valves, aflexible connection between each said valve and its locking mechanism, the parts of said locking mechanisms being maintained in locking relationship by the weights of said valves when raised, means for releasing one of said valves before the other, and a scalebeam adapted to separate the parts of each said locking mechanism and thus permit the valves to drop one after the other.

38. The combination of a platforn1scale, a hopper arranged above the same, a gravityvalve at said hopper, a pivoted arm flexibly connected to said valve and carrying a pivoted hook, an upright lever pivoted between its ends and adapted to be engaged at its upper end by said hook, a horizontally-arranged trip-plate adapted to be engaged by the lower end of said upright lever, said trip-plate being pivoted between its ends and resting at its inner end on the outer end of the scale-beam,

the construction and arrangement being such that when the valve is raised, the various parts are held in locked relationship by the weight of the valve and until released and dropped by the rise of the scale-beam.

39. The combination of a platform-scale, a trip-plate adapted to be actuated by the scalebeam, a lever adapted to press against said tripplate, a gravity-valve and connections between said valve and said lever whereby the Weight of said valve maintains said lever pressed against said trip-plate.

40. The combination of a platform-scale, a horizontally-arranged trip-plate pivoted between its ends and adapted to be actuated directly by the scale-beam, a vertically-arranged catch-lever also pivoted between its ends and adapted to press against an abutment on said trip-plate, a pivoted arm having a pivoted hook adapted to engage said catch-lever, a hopper, a gravity-valve, and flexible connections between said valve and said pivoted arm.

41. The combination with ahopper, of a pair of gravity-valves constructed and arranged to open and close one after the other, a platformscale, a horizontally-arranged pivoted tripplate 47 overlapping the scale-beam and provided with variable let-ofi devices as 45, 40 and a pendulous weight attached to said tripplate, a pair of upright levers 41, 42 pivoted between their ends, a pair of pivoted arms 31, 33 carrying the pivoted hooks 87, 37, and flexible connections 13, 14 extending to said valves.

Signed at Bufl'alo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, this 15th day of May,

JOHN HICKEY. W'itnesses:

(JiEO. O. BINGHAM, SHEPARD KIMBERLY.

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