GB1586761A

GB1586761A - Method of and device for weighing drums and the like

Info

Publication number: GB1586761A
Application number: GB2122376A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1977-05-23
Filing date: 1977-05-23
Publication date: 1981-03-25

Description

(54) METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR WEIGHING DRUMS AND THE LIKE (71) I, HERBERT ROY HADLEY, a British Subject, of 9 Manor Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, do hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The invention relates to a method of determining the weight of an object such as a drum or the like containing or for containing a liquid, and to a low-profile device for carrying out the method.

In order to determine the volume of liquid in a drum or the like, it would be useful, provided that the specific gravity of the liquid were known or at least was known to be constant, to measure the weight of drum containing liquid and compare that weight with the weight of the empty drum. However, most conventional weighing devices require that the object to be weighed be iifted on to a weighing platform. When the load is a large one such as that represented by a keg full of beer, for example, difficulty may be encountered in lifting the object off the ground.

It is therefore an object of the invention at least partially to obviate the aforementioned difficulty, without recourse to lifting tackle.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of determining the weight of an object having a base of finite dimensions comprising the steps of tilting the object to rest on a support surface by at least a first portion of said base, inserting a weighing device comprising a cantilever beam under the raised portion of the base, resting a second portion of said base on the cantilever beam at a predetermined distance from the fixed end of the beam so as to cause a bending of thereof to a degree depending on the weight of said object, and determining the degree of bending of the beam as a measure of said weight.

Preferably the object is a drum for liquids having a circular base and the said portion is diametrically opposite said first portion.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a low-profile weighing device adapted to be inserted under the raised portion of an object having a base of finite dimensions and being tilted to rest on a support surface by at least a first portion of said base, said device comprising a cantilever beam bearing at its free end upon a lever which acts upon a measuring device whereby, when a second portion of said base is rested on the beam at a predetermined distance from the fixed end thereof, a measure of the weight of the object is determined.

The beam is preferably cantilever supported in wall means extending upwardly from a portable base, and the beam extends for at least a part of its length above said base.

Means may be provided for locating the application of said load to said beam at a predetermined distance from said wall, and may comprise a projection extending upwardly from the beam.

The lever may be a bell-crank lever pivotally mounted on the base in engagement both with said beam and with the measuring device comprising a displacement gauge mounted on the base whereby a bending of the beam results in a corresponding operation of said gauge.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which: Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of a first apparatus for carrying out the method of the invention; Fig. 2 shows a detail of the free end of the beam in a further such apparatus; Fig. 3 shows the apparatus of Fig. 1 in use; Fig. 4 shows the apparatus of Fig. 1 in plan; Fig. 5 shows an embodiment in side elevation; and Fig. 6 shows the embodiment of Fig. 5 in plan.

In the Figures 1 to 4 the weighing device comprises a cantilever beam 4 supported at one end by a low wall 3 securely fastened to a rectangular base 1 which is provided on the under side with three stud feet 2. The canti lever beam is made of a material, for example steel, having regular bending properties. The free end 5 of the beam is cut at an angle of about 16 to the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the beam, and the surface is polished smooth.

A displacement gauge 9 of the type generally referred to as a dial indicator is mounted on base 1. The horizontally movable feeler 8 of the gauge is spring loaded to abut against the end 5 of beam 4. Movement of the feeler against the spring pressure, that is to say to the right in the figure, produces a reading on the dial of the gauge. Thus, if the beam is bent downwardly, the sloping surface 5 acts as a cam to displace the feeder to the right and to produce a dial reading dependent on the degree of bending.

The beam is adapted, as will be described below, to receive a load at a predetermined distance from the fixed end so as to bend it to a degree dependent on the magnitude of the load.

Although the device may be useful for weighing other types of articles, its primary purpose is for the weighing of articles that are difficult to lift completely but have a rigid base structure and are capable relatively easily of being tilted by raising one end of the base off the ground and determining the load exerted at the raised end, leaving the other end of the base resting on the ground. Suitable articles for weighing by this method would thus include concrete beams, upright pianos and beer kegs. Provided that the tilting were too slight to move the centre of gravity of the article significantly away from the raised end, and that the load were evenly distributed within the article between the ends of its base, the load exerted at the raised end would approximate to half the total weight.

For determining the weight of a beer keg, the keg is tilted slightly and the device is slid under the base of the keg, wall 3 end first, until the raised edge of the keg locates against stop 6 which extends upwardly from beam 4 near the free end. The conventional keg 11 has a downwardly extending peripheral base flange 10 as shown in Fig. 3, and the device is so dimensioned that the flange may rest on the beam 4 adjacent to the stop 6 with the total weight of the keg divided between the flange portion resting on the beam and the diametrically opposite flange portion resting on the ground. There will be a slight shift in the centre of gravity but this will be minimised by keeping the tilt as low as possible, and the device is thus constructed to be of minimum height.

To calibrate the dial of the gauge in terms of the liquid content of a keg, a keg is filled with the liquid to various depths in a series of separate experiments and rested on the beam as described above. The beam will bend in relation to the weight of keg and liquid and the gauge will show an appropriate series of readings and the dial may thus be marked "full," "half-full," "quarter-full." Alternatively, the gauge may be calibrated to read in gallons.

The invention may similarly be used to determine the weight content of a container of flowable solids.

A separate calibration will probably be required for each different size or type of keg.

Because of the shifting of the centre of gravity the displacement of the feeler may not be exactly proportional to the weight of the keg. A correction could be applied if required by a suitable shaping of the cam surface or by appropriate calibration of the dial.

To adapt the device to the weighing of articles having a flat base, such as a concrete beam, the cantilever beam may be provided with an upwardly extending stud 7 (Fig. 2) for contact with the base of the article so as to predetermine the cantilever distance that is to say the distance from the mounting of the beam, of the application of the load. The stop may be modified to fulfil the function of stud 7 and thus provide a device suitable for weighing different types of articles.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, beam 4 is integral with wall 3, and free end 5 of said beam engages arm 15 of bell-crank lever 16 which is pivoted at 17 in a bracket 18 mounted on dial gauge 9. Bending of beam 4 causes a displacement of arm 15 so that the other arm 19 of lever 16 displaces spindle 8 of the gauge and produces a corresponding reading thereon.

It will be observed that the height of wall 3 is very small; indeed it could be reduced to practically zero if under zero load the beam were to diverge sufficiently from the base 1 to allow for uninhibited bending under load.

Other gauges may be employed, within the scope of the invention, for determining the bending of the beam, such other gauges including known types of strain gauge operatively associated with remote weight indicating means such as a digital indicator.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A method of determining the weight of an object having a base of finite dimensions, comprising the steps of tilting the object to rest on a support surface by at least a first portion of said base, inserting a weighing device comprising a cantilever beam under the raised portion of the base, resting a second portion of said base on the cantilever beam at a predetermined distance from the fixed end of the beam so as to cause a bending thereof to a degree depending on the weight of said object, and determining the degree of bending of the beam as a measure of said weight.

2. A method according to Claim 1 whereby

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. lever beam is made of a material, for example steel, having regular bending properties. The free end 5 of the beam is cut at an angle of about 16 to the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the beam, and the surface is polished smooth. A displacement gauge 9 of the type generally referred to as a dial indicator is mounted on base 1. The horizontally movable feeler 8 of the gauge is spring loaded to abut against the end 5 of beam 4. Movement of the feeler against the spring pressure, that is to say to the right in the figure, produces a reading on the dial of the gauge. Thus, if the beam is bent downwardly, the sloping surface 5 acts as a cam to displace the feeder to the right and to produce a dial reading dependent on the degree of bending. The beam is adapted, as will be described below, to receive a load at a predetermined distance from the fixed end so as to bend it to a degree dependent on the magnitude of the load. Although the device may be useful for weighing other types of articles, its primary purpose is for the weighing of articles that are difficult to lift completely but have a rigid base structure and are capable relatively easily of being tilted by raising one end of the base off the ground and determining the load exerted at the raised end, leaving the other end of the base resting on the ground. Suitable articles for weighing by this method would thus include concrete beams, upright pianos and beer kegs. Provided that the tilting were too slight to move the centre of gravity of the article significantly away from the raised end, and that the load were evenly distributed within the article between the ends of its base, the load exerted at the raised end would approximate to half the total weight. For determining the weight of a beer keg, the keg is tilted slightly and the device is slid under the base of the keg, wall 3 end first, until the raised edge of the keg locates against stop 6 which extends upwardly from beam 4 near the free end. The conventional keg 11 has a downwardly extending peripheral base flange 10 as shown in Fig. 3, and the device is so dimensioned that the flange may rest on the beam 4 adjacent to the stop 6 with the total weight of the keg divided between the flange portion resting on the beam and the diametrically opposite flange portion resting on the ground. There will be a slight shift in the centre of gravity but this will be minimised by keeping the tilt as low as possible, and the device is thus constructed to be of minimum height. To calibrate the dial of the gauge in terms of the liquid content of a keg, a keg is filled with the liquid to various depths in a series of separate experiments and rested on the beam as described above. The beam will bend in relation to the weight of keg and liquid and the gauge will show an appropriate series of readings and the dial may thus be marked "full," "half-full," "quarter-full." Alternatively, the gauge may be calibrated to read in gallons. The invention may similarly be used to determine the weight content of a container of flowable solids. A separate calibration will probably be required for each different size or type of keg. Because of the shifting of the centre of gravity the displacement of the feeler may not be exactly proportional to the weight of the keg. A correction could be applied if required by a suitable shaping of the cam surface or by appropriate calibration of the dial. To adapt the device to the weighing of articles having a flat base, such as a concrete beam, the cantilever beam may be provided with an upwardly extending stud 7 (Fig. 2) for contact with the base of the article so as to predetermine the cantilever distance that is to say the distance from the mounting of the beam, of the application of the load. The stop may be modified to fulfil the function of stud 7 and thus provide a device suitable for weighing different types of articles. In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, beam 4 is integral with wall 3, and free end 5 of said beam engages arm 15 of bell-crank lever 16 which is pivoted at 17 in a bracket 18 mounted on dial gauge 9. Bending of beam 4 causes a displacement of arm 15 so that the other arm 19 of lever 16 displaces spindle 8 of the gauge and produces a corresponding reading thereon. It will be observed that the height of wall 3 is very small; indeed it could be reduced to practically zero if under zero load the beam were to diverge sufficiently from the base 1 to allow for uninhibited bending under load. Other gauges may be employed, within the scope of the invention, for determining the bending of the beam, such other gauges including known types of strain gauge operatively associated with remote weight indicating means such as a digital indicator. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A method of determining the weight of an object having a base of finite dimensions, comprising the steps of tilting the object to rest on a support surface by at least a first portion of said base, inserting a weighing device comprising a cantilever beam under the raised portion of the base, resting a second portion of said base on the cantilever beam at a predetermined distance from the fixed end of the beam so as to cause a bending thereof to a degree depending on the weight of said object, and determining the degree of bending of the beam as a measure of said weight.

2. A method according to Claim 1 whereby

the load on said second portion is substantially half of the total load of the object.

3. A method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the base of the object is elongated and the first and second portions are the respective ends thereof.

4. A method according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the base is circular and the first and second portions are diametrically opposite.

5. A method according to Claim 4 wherein the object is a drum or the like for liquids.

6. A low-profile weighing device adapted to be inserted under the raised portion of an object having a base of finite dimensions and being tilted to rest on a support surface by at least a first portion of said base, said device comprising a cantilever beam bearing at its free end upon a lever which acts upon a measuring device whereby, when a second portion of said base is rested on the beam at a predetermined distance from the fixed end thereof, a measure of the weight of the object is determined.

7. A weighing device according to Claim 6 further comprising a portable base supporting said beam which extends for at least a part of its length above said base.

8. A weighing device according to any one of Claims 6 and 7, further comprising means for locating the application of said load to said beam at a predetermined distance from said supported end.

9. A weighing device according to Claim 8 wherein the said locating means comprises an upwardly extending projection from the beam.

10. A weighing device according to any one of Claims 7, 8 and 9 wherein the lever is a bell-crank lever pivotally mounted on the base in engagement both with said beam and with the measuring device comprising a displacement gauge mounted on the base whereby a bending of the beam results in a corresponding operation of said gauge.

11. A method of determining the weight of an object having a base of finite dimensions substantially as described.

12. A low profile weighing device for carrying out the method of Claim 11 substantially as described with reference to the Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings.