US371869A - whitney - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. R. WHITNEY.

COIN CPERATED ELECTRICAL WEICHING SCALE.

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' E. R. WHITNEY.

GOIN OPERATEDELEGTRIGAL WBIGHING SCALE.

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EDVIN RUTHVEN VHITN EY, OF MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO THE STANDARD ELECTRIC COMPANY OF VERMONT, OF ST. JOHNS- BUEY, VERMONT.

COIN-OPERATED ELECTRICAL WEIGHINGiSCALE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,869, dated October 18, 1887A Application filed MaI-rh 22, 1887.

To @ZZ whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN Berni/EN WHIT- NEY, of Manchester, in the county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsinVeighing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The invention relates to that class of weigh- Io ing-machines which are inoperative until by the introduction of the coin required the mechanism is released and enabled either to perform the operation or indicate the result, and has special reference to those machines in which the weight of the coin'will putin eircuit an electro-magnet the armature of which acts through suitable means to canse the needle to register the weight.

The invention consists in the combination, zo'withvthe weighing mechanism properviz., that actuated by the pressure on the platform of the person to be weighed-of an electrical registering` device normally disconnected from the weighing mechanism proper, but connected therewith so as to be operated thereby by the introduction of the proper coin.

It also comprises certain improvements in the construction of the coin-receptacle and conduits through which said coin passes.

The special Inechanism above referred to may be thus briefly described: The needle or pointer is secured on the end of a sleeve having formed on its inner end a disk, the whole being mounted loosely on the spindle proper, 55 which is connected with the actuating-rod of the weighing'apparatus by a lever or arm. On this spindle is mounted rigidly a disk in close proximity to the disk on the sleeve, and also in the same Way an electro-magnet hav- 40 ing on its frame a projection, to which is pivoted a curved lever having formed on one end a shoe and on the other a fork engaging with a clutch-armature moving freely on the spindle. Vhen the coin is dropped into the proper receptacle, it acts, through levers and a cup with mercury in it, to put the magnet into electrical circuit. The magnet will draw on the clutch armature, and thus operate the curved lever so as to grip both the xed and 5o loose disks, thus imparting through these to Serial No. 231,996. (No model?) the pointer the movement derived Vfrom the Weighing mechanism. The irstsection of the conduit is connected with the weighing mechanism, so that if the person steps onto the platform* before inserting the coin 'through the 55 casing this section of the conduit will be by his action drawn down, so that the coin will fall into the ease and accomplish nothing. The introduction of too small a coin will also fail to operate the mechanism.

The case in which the mechanism is contained has the front, front and back, or all four sides', mainly composed of glass, so that every detail of its construction and operation can be viewed.

For full comprehension of the invention reference must be had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-I Figure 1 is a front view of the machine with 7o the front removed; Fig. 2, a vertical section on line at fr, Fig. l, looking in direction indicated; Fig. 3, a horizontal section on line ze, Fig. 1, looking down, with part of Weighing mechanismshown, (theglassfrontbeingshown in place in Figs. 2 and 3;) Fig. 4, adetailside View of parts carried on the needle-spindle, and Fig. 5 a section of the coin-sorter.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

A is the ordinary platform, any depression of which is transmitted through a connectingrod, A, and the well-known system and combination of scale-levers shown in Fig. l (consisting of knifeedged standards a and a', 85 frame a2, carrying shotcup or weight a3, the two levers al a5, and equalizing-spring a6) to the rod A2, from which it is taken up by the weighted lever A3, which is secured rigidly to the needle-spindle B, as shown, carried ingo the easing andin any suitable bearing, B', and these connections cause the said spindle to revolve an amount proportional to that of the depression of the platform.

On the spindle Bis mounted loosely a sleeve, 9 3 C, Figs. 2, 3, and 4, having formed on itsinner end a disk, C', and on its outer end a iiange,

O2, to which is secured the needle or pointer D, of well-known and suitable form.

E is a disk of the same diameter as C,

and roo mounted rigidly on the spindle B in close proximity to it.

F is an electro-magnet placed in circuit, as willbe presently described, and having formed on it a projection, F', Figs. 2 and 4,to which the curved lever G is pivoted, said lever tern minating at one end in a shoe, G', and at the other in a fork, G2, of ordinary form, engaging with the cluteh-ar1nature H, moving freely on the spindle B.

I is a bar placed horizontally where shown in the drawings, carried on k nife-edges z' t' in the brackets J J, secured to the easing. In the bent ends I I ot' this bar are formed seats, in which rest the knife-edge supports la la of the main conduit or runway K, formed of a frame carrying the ends of any suitable number of zigzag inclined troughs, K K, down which the coin passes from the conduit, which it enters when inserted in the ease, into any suitable hopper, S, and receptacle S.

The knife-edges t' t' of the bar I act as fulcrum-points for it, the weights I3 on the arm I2 being'an equipoise for the weight of the runway K.

L is a bell-crank lever pivoted to the casing of the machine and having a projection, L', acted upon by the insulated arm l, secured to the bar I.

lis a rod attached to L, which, when the other end of the lever is raised, will dip into the mercury contained in the cup M, carried on a fixed bracket.

N is a suitable battery carried in the bottom of the ease, one pole being connected by line O to the mercury-cup M or its bracket and the other by line O to electro-magnet F, a third wire, O2, connecting thcmagnet with the bell crank lever L, (in electrical connection with rod l.)

Figs. 2 and 5 show the coin-sorter I), of some such shape as that shown,and secured to the top easing, Y, of the machine, in which are formed openings y gf.

I is the runway proper' of the coin-sorter, of such a section that a coin smaller in dialneter than the one designated will fall out of it before reaching the outlet j,and into the lower space in the casing I), and thence pass through the opening y into the funnel Q, which will deliver it into the receptacle S through hopper S. The funnel Q, is shown in Fig. l, and is positioned so as to reach under the entire sorter I). Access 4may be had to the interior of P through the door P2 to clear the runway should it in any way become blocked.

It is an inclined trough secured to the casing, the end section, R', of which (into which the coin drops through the slot y2) is hinged thereto and connected by rod al with any part of the weighing mechanism, so as to move with it. Iy this arrangement of the hinged section and connection the coin, instead of passing through the runway and causing the V devices to operate, will be discharged directly into the funnel, when in any ease the body to be weighed is placed upon the platform before the coin is inserted.

Z is the front frame, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and Z the glass face of same.

The operation of my invention is as follows: Before mounting the platform the person to be weighed inserts into P the proper' coin, which passes down the runway I, through the opening 1/2 into the trough It, and thence into the conduit proper, K. As soon as the coin enters this conduit the equipoise of the bar I is distnrbcd,and the insulated end ofthe arm I, acting against the projection L of the bellscrank lever L, will cause the rod Z to dip into the mercury contained in the cup M, and thus complete the electrical circuit from the battery N through the electromagnet F. The result of this movement is that the magnet,be ing charged,draws on the clutclrarlnature H, so as to bring the shoe G down on the peripheries ofthe disks C and E. This action has the effect of connecting the disk C', its sleeve (l, and pointer D with the shaft I3 through the rigid disk E, and causing the said disk C', sleeve and pointer D to move in unison with the shaft. As heretofore explained, the shaft is in connection, through the ordinary rods, levers, &c., with the platform, and it will thus be seen that the movement ofthe platform will be transnlitted through the shaft, disks, and sleeve to the pointer, which will indicate the weight of the body upon the platform. The connection of the registering mechanism with the weighing mechanism just referred to will last so long as the coin is passing down through the several zigzag troughs K K,dur ing which time the person wishing to weigh. himselfcan do so and have the result indicated. Se soon as the coin passes out from the lowermost of the troughs K K into the receptacle S the cquipoise of the bar I is restored and the rod l withdrawn from the niereury-eup M, so as to break the electrical circuit and allow the parts to resume their normal position. A smaller coin than the one required will simply fall out of the runway I? and through y' into the funnel Q (shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2) without actuating the mechanism. Asimilarresultwillfollowshould the weighing mechanism be drawn before the coin is introduced, as in that ease the hinged portion It of the trough R will be drawn down by the weighing mechanism and allow the coin to roll into the funnel Q.

Although I prefer to use as weighing meehanism the system of levers, &c., shown in the drawings, it must be understood that I do not confine myself to this, as my invention may be used in combination with several other styles of construction.

I am aware that the combination of a mova ble coin-tube with mechanism adapted to be operated thereby, and also with an electrical circuit adapted to be closed by the introduction of a coin and operate other devices arranged to operate entirely independent of the tirst ICO l'lO

mechanism, is notnew, and I do not claim such combination, broadly.

What I claim is as follows:

1. In a weighing-machine, and in combination, the registering device, the weighing mechanism normally out of connection with the said registering device and adapted/while in connection to impart movement to said registering device when it is itself operated, a:

conduit for the coin, and an electrical device to throw the two sets of devices into dependent and co-operative engagement, said electrical device being adapted to be energized while the coin is in the conduit, substantially as described.

2. In a weighing-machine, and in combination, the registeringdevice, the weighing mechanism normally out of connection with the said registering device and adapted while in connection to impart movement to said registering device, a movable conduit for the coin, and means, substantially as described, to be actuated while the conduit is in its moved position for throwing the two sets of devices into operative engagement,substantially as described.

3. In a weighing-1nachine, and in combination,the weighing mechanism proper, the indieating device, an electric circuit, an electromagnet, means, substantially as described, adapted to be operated by said magnet to form a connection between the indicating device and the weighing mechanism, a movable ruuway arranged to be operated by the weight of a coin, and means operated by said runway to close the electrical circuit, substantially as described.

4. In a weighingmaehine, and in combination, the weighing mechanism, the indicating device, the electrical circuit, the electromagnet, means, substantially as described, operated by said magnet to form a connection between the said weighing and indicating devices, a runway having slight movement upon the introduction of the coin, a mercury-cup, as M, and a lever operated by the runway for establishing the circuit, substantially as described.

5. In a weighingmachine, and in combination, the weighing mechanism, the shaft B, connected to said weighing mechanism, the indicating device loose on said shaft, the elecytric circuit, the electro-magnet, and means,

substantially as described, for fixing said indicating device to the shaft upon the establishment of said circuit, the movable runway, and means operated thereby to establish the circuit, substantially as described.

6. In a weighing machine, and in combination, the weighing mechanism, the indicating device normally out of connection with the weighing mechanism, the runway, and means for establishing a connection between the indicating and the weighing mechanism, said runway having a hinged section connected with the weighing mechanism to be operated thereby, substantially as described.

7. The coin-sorter I), having a runway, I3', for the coin,'said runway having an open bottom and flanges for directing a coin ot' proper size, and the door I, substantially as described.

8. In combination, the weighing and indieating devices normally out of connection one with the other, means for forming a connection between the two, a movable runway adapted to actuate the said connecting means while in its moved position, said movable runway being zigzag in form, whereby the connection between the weighing and indicating devices is of sufficiently long duration to effect the desired indication, substantially as described.

9. In combination, the weighing and indin eating devices normally out of connection one with the other, means, substantially as described, for forming a connection between them, a movable runway adapted to operate by the weightof the coin and act upon said connecting means, and a stationary section at the beginning of the runway, said section having a hinged portion,R,connected with the weighing mechanism, substantially as described.

EDWIN RUTHVEN WHITNEY.

WVitnesses:

A. B. NoYns, D. DEAN Pnfrrnnson.

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