Mechanism for selectively applying loads of different magnitudes in high temperaturemicro-hardness testing apparatus

Claim 1

AN APPARATUS FOR MICRO-HARDNESS TESTING OF MATERIALS AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES COMPRISING A FRAME, A PLURALITY OF LOADING WEIGHTS WITHIN THE FRAME, THE INDIVIDUAL WEIGHTS POSITIONED ONE BELOW THE OTHER OF THE PLURALITY BEING OF PREDETERMINED WEIGHT AND EACH HAVING A SUCCESSSIVELY SMALLER DIAMETER THE LOWER IT IS POSITIONED IN THE PLURALITY AND EACH HAVING A CENTRAL BORE, AN EVACUATED CHAMBER WITHIN WHICH THE FRAME IS VERTICALLY RECIPROCABLE, AN AIR-TIGHT SEAL AT THE TOP OF THE CHAMBER, AN EXTENSION INTEGRAL WITH THE UPPER END OF THE FRAME SLIDINGLY FITTED IN AND PASSING THROUGH THE AIR-TIGHT SEAL TO OUTSIDE THE CHAMBER, MEANS PROVIDING AN INTERNAL VERTICAL BORE WITHIN THE EXTENSION FROM ITS BOTTOM TO ITS CLOSED UPPER REGION, A VERTICALLY SLIDABLE STEM OF WHICH THE UPPER REGION IS WITHIN THE BORE OF THE EXTENSION AND OF WHICH STEM THE INTERMEDIATE REGION PASSES THROUGH THE CENTRAL BORE OF EACH LOADING WEIGHT, AN ANNULAR PLATE INTEGRAL WITH A LOWER PORTION OF THE STEM, A RADIALLY INWARD TAPERING CONICAL STEM REGION INTEGRAL WITH THE LOWER FACE OF THE PLATE, AN ARM WITHIN THE CHAMBER EXTENDING INTO THE FRAME, MEANS PROVIDING A CONICAL PORT THROUGH THE ARM, THE CONICAL STEM REGION OF THE STEM FITTING INTO THE CONICAL PORT OF THE ARM SO THAT THE ARM NORMALLY SUPPORTS THE

Claim 2

AN APPARATUS FOR MICRO-HARDNESS TESTING OF MATERIALS AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES COMPRISING A FRAME, A PLURALITY OF LOADING WEIGHTS WITHIN THE FRAME, THE INDIVIDUAL WEIGHTS POSITIONED ONE BELOW THE OTHER OF THE PLURALITY BEING OF PREDETERMINED WEIGHT AND EACH HAVING A SUCCESSSIVELY SMALLER DIAMETER THE LOWER IT IS POSITIONED IN THE PLURALITY AND EACH HAVING A CENTRAL BORE, AN EVACUATED CHAMBER WITHIN WHICH THE FRAME IS VERTICALLY RECIPROCABLE, AN AIR-TIGHT SEAL AT THE TOP OF THE CHAMBER, AN EXTENSION INTEGRAL WITH THE UPPER END OF THE FRAME SLIDINGLY FITTED IN AND PASSING THROUGH THE AIR-TIGHT SEAL TO OUTSIDE THE CHAMBER, MEANS PROVIDING AN INTERNAL VERTICAL BORE WITHIN THE EXTENSION FROM ITS BOTTOM TO ITS CLOSED UPPER REGION, A VERTICALLY SLIDABLE STEM OF WHICH THE UPPER REGION IS WITHIN THE BORE OF THE EXTENSION AND OF WHICH STEM THE INTERMEDIATE REGION PASSES THROUGH THE CENTRAL BORE OF EACH LOADING WEIGHT, AN ANNULAR PLATE INTEGRAL WITH A LOWER PORTION OF THE STEM, A RADIALLY INWARD TAPERING CONICAL STEM REGION INTEGRAL WITH THE LOWER FACE OF THE PLATE, AN ARM WITHIN THE CHAMBER EXTENDING INTO THE FRAME, MEANS PROVIDING A CONICAL PORT THROUGH THE ARM, THE CONICAL STEM REGION OF THE STEM FITTING INTO THE CONICAL PORT OF THE ARM SO THAT THE ARM NORMALLY SUPPORTS THE