Weighing device

Claim 1

A WEIGHING DEVICE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, COMPRISING GENERALLY RECTANGULAR FRAME MEANS HAVING BASE PLATE MEANS RIGIDLY SECURED THERETO, LOAD RECEIVING MEANS, GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL SHAFTS RIGIDLY SECURED TO THE SAID BASE PLATE MEANS ADJACENT TO EACH CORNER OF SAID FRAME MEANS AND ARRANGED IN PAIRS AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID FRAME MEANS, LEVER MEANS ADAPTED AND ARRANGED TO SUSPEND SAID LOAD RECEIVING MEANS RELATIVE TO SAID SHAFTS WHEREBY A LOAD APPLIED TO SAID LOAD RECEIVING MEANS EXERTS A TORSIONAL STRAIN ON SAID SHAFTS SUCH THAT ONE OF SAID PAIRS OF SHAFTS AT EACH END IS SUBJECTED TO A TORSIONAL STRAIN IN ONE DIRECTION AND THE OTHER OF SAID SHAFTS IS SUBJECTED TO A TORSIONAL STRAIN IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, A PAIR OF ELECTRICAL STRAIN SENSITIVE FILAMENTS DIAGONALLY DIVERGENTLY MOUNTED UPON EACH OF SAID SHAFTS THROUGHOUT THE EFFECTIVE LENGTH THEREOF WHEREBY ONE OF SAID FILAMENTS ON EACH OF SAID SHAFTS IS SUBJECTED TO TENSIONAL STRAIN AND THE OTHER OF SAID FILAMENTS IS SUBJECTED TO COMPRESSIONAL STRAIN, AN ELECTRICAL POWER SOURCE, MEANS CONNECTING SAID FILAMENTS ELECTRICALLY TO SAID POWER SOURCE IN A WHEATSTONE BRIDGE CIRCUIT SUCH THAT THE FOUR ARMS OF SAID CIRCUIT ARE COMPOSED OF FILAMENTS SUBJECTED TO TENSION IN OPPOSITE ARMS THEREOF AND FILAMENTS SUBJECTED TO COMPRESSION IN THE OTHER OPPOSITE ARMS THEREOF, EACH OF SAID ARMS CONSISTING OF ONE FILAMENT ON ONE OF SAID PAIRS OF SHAFTS AND ONE FILAMENT FROM THE OTHER SHAFT OF SAID PAIR, AND INDICATING MEANS CONNECTED IN SAID CIRCUIT AND ADAPTED AND ARRANGED TO INDICATE THE UNBALANCE THEREIN AS AN INDICATION OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE LOAD APPLIED TO SAID LOAD RECEIVING MEANS.