US2812582A - Calipers - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 12, 1957 G, E, ACHBACH 2,812,582

l cALIPERs Filed Nov. 26, 1954 ORANGE 112425420415094 98| SIZES 9 5 7 z aas 26 2o a5 E iff-'9. 1

INVENTORY Y M7/L M United States Patent o i i This invention relates to' calipers and more-particularly to citrus measuring calipers-.f

When citrusafruits are-p ic-lned-4 they.'aref-readiedfor-v mar-ket delivery byfplacingtherein-crates.v However, the The 2 producer has found that hecany demand af' higher price for his-larger fruit 4 as compared lto"smallercitrus fruit.v Byy sepa-rating fruits generally arefof variousi sizes.

the fruits int'oyvariou's grade sizes and selling-them accord-y ingto theirfsize, theproducer-s--average price will be higher' than the average price/of` mixed citrus-fruits ungraded y It is* therefore anU object of.L this-2 invention-l to provide an'economical methodof sizing'thefcitrus-fruit-by setting.`

screening. apparatus' for.-v th'e particular `sizedesired.- Furthermore, thea calipers maybe: usedby ypurchasers-when buying the fruit, either on the tree or after being pioked,

to thereby determine the value of the fruit.

It is another object ofrthis-inventiontoprovide a pair of calipers mounted on a support member having indicia thereon, which indiciakcooperatesflwitlt tlief caliper setting soas to-'indicate the number of a particular citrus? fruit which williillastandard crate.

Itis istillanother object of this invention to provide a pair oftcalip'erscapable of settinggthe spacing in'ascreening mechanism for a particular size citrus fruit, and having indicia thereon for giving the number of said citrus fruit for a standard crate.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide calipers adapted to measure the size of a citrus fruit and give the number of a particular citrus fruit per crate as shown by the indicia placed thereon, the support for the calipers having means thereon so as to permit the caliper legs to pivot out of position in order that no protruding members or sharp edges are exposed.

It is a specific object of this invention to provide calipers having a support member provided with an inch scale and a plurality of other scales, the various dimensions on the inch scale lining up with various indicia on the other scales, so as to give the number of a particular size of citrus necessary to till a standard size crate as measured on the inch scale, the support member having caliper legs mounted Vthereon-adapted to pivot or slide, and the support and legs being provided with means for releasably locking the legs'in operative position.

These land other objects will become more apparent when read in the light ofthe accompanying drawing and speciiication; wherein the parts are designated by specific names but are intended to be as generic in their application as the prior art will permit; and wherein the same parts have the same numbers in the various figures.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

ln the drawings, Figure l is a plan view showing t e caliper legs in operative position.

Figure 2 is a plan view showing the caliper legs in inoperative position.

'reading down 'in the indicia scale.

the'caliper leg 14"^is1set on the-four-inchfscale, as' shown'y by: the-dotted line of thecaliper leg14, the nurnberof.l orangesitoV fill: aT standard sizefcrate' would be about'83, thefappr'oximate midpointbetween 70 and 96'orangesfperi ICC Figure- 3 is ai cross: sectional viewkv taken substantially on theline 3;-3 of Figure l.

Inlgeneral, a slotted-support member is--provided..which` has-several rows of indicia placed thereon; Arpair ofv caliper legs are positionedy on'the support membenone of 1 whichis movable in the slotwith respect to" the other. Anf inch scale isalso-provided on the support-member' for:

positioning the caliper legs for a desired size of citrus fruits By reading down' from the positionv of-the'movable caliper leg "to the indicia; thenumberof a'eparticular citrus fruit is ascertained for a standardl size crate. The legs of -the'- calipers are arranged-in'such a manner so astoebeeasily.

pivoted out of operative position for easy carrying-.ory

port member contains an aperturellSvat-oneend and a3 longitudinal slot 20.V On the other` sideY of said aperture an'additional slot 24 isformed in the support' member 12. The base support member isvprovided with two inchv scales 2-2 onei'ther side thereof as is best shownv Severalfsets of additional indicia 23' arel These indicia lare in Figure l. shown on the 'slotted support member. related' to the inch scale insucha'manner so as to givev the number ofcitrus fruit fora standard size crate. Forexample; three types of citrus fruits are indicated; orange,

tangerine-and grapefruit.` By, positioning the caliper leg 14toa-desirablesiz'e; .the' number of that sizefofv fruit Aforfilling;y a standard sizeV crate can beY readily obtained by.

crate;

The conventional sizeof cratesused for packing tangerinesris-smal-ler than is-'usually usedl for:l oranges. If;

for example, the calipers are adjusted so as to have the leading edge of member 14 register with the 21/2" scale on the calipers, it may readily be seen that there will be 176 tangerines. In the Ievent the calipers are used to measure grapefruit, the lower scale on the lower section, as viewed in Figure 1, would then be used to determine the size of the grapefruit. l

The caliper leg 16 is pivotally mounted in the support member 12. Each caliper leg has an aperture therein so that a bolt 26 or the like can be passed through the leg and the support member 12. A knurled tightening nut 28 is threaded on the end of the bolt 26 with a Belleville spring Washer 30 positioned between the knurled nut 28 rand the support member 12. The spring washer 30` exerts a tension force on the bolt and nut at all times. The caliper legs are each provided with stamped protuberances 32 on either side of the aperture and extend outside of the plane of the caliper legs themselves.

It is noted that the caliper leg 14`is made in the same manner and is supported in the same manner as the caliper leg 16, with one exception; the caliper leg 14 is slidably mounted in the slot 20.

By pressing on the knurled nut 28, the caliper legs are free to be pivoted out of the normal operative position which would be perpendicular to the length of the slotted support member 12. When it is desirable to place the calipers in operative position, the legs are pivoted outward from the support member to a point perpendicular thereto and the caliper legs will snap into position with the protuberances fitting into the slots 20 and 24.

Therefore, applicant has provided novel citrus fruit calipers which are very compact, in that the legs can be pivoted out of the operative position, thereby making it.

Ptented- Nov. 12,-,195-7'- For example; if

very easy to carry in ones pocket or the like. Also, the instrument is very useful in determining the amount of a particular citrus fruit to till a standard crate of a particular size of fruit.

Although the preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be Amade in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In citrus measuring calipers for giving the number of a particular size citrus fruit for filling a standard size crate comprising a support member having an aperture therethrough and a pair of slots on` either side of said aperture, a pair of caliper legs, one being pivotally mounted in said aperture and the other being slidably mounted in one of said slots, and means on said caliper legs cooperating with said slots for releasably locking the legs in operative position.

2. In citrus measuring calipers for giving the number of a particular size citrus fruit for filling a standard size crate comprising a support member having an aperture therethrough and a slot on each side of said aperture, a caliper leg pivotally mounted in said aperture and a caliper leg slidably mounted in one of said slots, spring means for biasing said caliper legs against said support, `and means on one of said caliper legs engaging both slots for releasably locking said leg in operative position.

3. In citrus measuring calipers for giving the number of a particular size citrus fruit for illing a standard size crate comprising a support member having an aperture therethrough and a slot on each side of said aperture, a caliper leg pivotally mounted in said aperture and a caliper leg slidably mounted in one of said slots, an inch scale on said support member, said slidable caliper leg being positioned on a measured distance on said inch scale, and another scale on said support cooperatively associated with said inch scale for giving the number of a fruit corresponding to the measured distance on said inch scale, and means on one of said caliper legs engaging both slots for releasably locking said leg in operative position.

4. Citrus measuring calipers having a support member having a longitudinal slot and a short slot in one end thereof, said support member being provided with a pair of legs mounted on one side thereof, one of the legs of said calipers being pivotally mounted between said slots, the other of said legs being slidably and pivotally mounted in the longitudinal slot, spring means positioned on the other side of said support member from said legs and exerting a tension force on said legs so as to retain the legs in contiguous relationship with the Support member, said legs having protuberances the protuberances of one of the legs positioning themselves in both slots when the leg is perpendicular to the support member, the protuberances of the other leg positioning themselves in the longitudinal slot when this leg is perpendicular to the support member. Y

5. In fruit measuring calipers, the combination of a support member having a plurality of scales thereon for use in measuring sizes of various kinds of fruit, there being one scale for each kind of fruit such as oranges,

' grapefruit, et cetera, each of said scales being adapted to determine the size of a particular fruit as measured on the scale corresponding to the particular kind of fruit measured, said support member having an aperture therethrough and a pair of slots on either side of said aperture, a pair of legs, one being pivotally mounted in said aperture and the other being slidably mounted in one of said slots, and means on said legs of said calipers cooperating with said slots for releasably locking the legs in operative position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 721,271 Adler Feb. 14, 1903 1,226,172 Benjamin May 15, 1915 1,814,401 Morrell July 14, 1931 2,668,359 4Litchfield Feb. 9, 1954

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