Pitney Bowes Inc.

Louis T Canevari

Leonard J Macari

Daniel F Dlugos

Flavio M Manduley

Gerald C Freeman

Keith E Schubert

Vincent G Coppola

Edward R Hordeski

A mass produced weight measuring system includes an optical transducer for determining the displacement of a scale load support structure with respect to a scale frame. The detector includes a transducer subassembly which carries a plurality of photodetectors positioned at the end of a light path which is modulated by a pair of optical gratings. One of the gratings is fixed relative to the scale frame, and the other is mounted to the load support structure in alignment with the fixed grating. To facilitate mass fabrication, the optical transducer is produced and both gratings adjusted for alignment as a subassembly unit independent of the scale frame and load support structure; the clearance between the grating planes is set and the movable grating temporarily fixed. Grating adjustment is facilitated by a clamping jig which mounts on the transducer. The jig includes two adjustment screws which contact an edge of the movable grating. Nonlinearities in scale load support deflection inherent with the scale linkage and providing components other than true vertical deflection are compensated by predetermined placement of the grating angle from a horizontal plane. During scale assembly, the scale frame and load support structure are placed in a main fixture, a transducer subassembly unit is selected, mounted to a subfixture and the grating planes referenced to scale assembly reference planes; then the transducer body is epoxy potted relative to the frame and the movable grating potted relative to the tare structure. The movable grating is then freed for movement relative to the transducer body.

Assembly fixtures for mass producible weight measuring system

A postage meter conversion apparatus is disclosed that will convert a mechanical, lever operated postage meter into an electrically controlled postage meter. The conversion apparatus is easily assembled and disassembled from a standard lever operated postage meter. Each lever of the meter is operated in a sequential manner. The conversion apparatus is so constructed that only one lever of the meter can be actuated at any time in the sequence. Optical monitors are provided to monitor the operation of the conversion unit so that any possible errors in the setting of the postage amount may be determined. The conversion apparatus can be used to make the mechanical meter compatible in an electrical environment containing equipment such as a computer, a digital scale, and other postage system processing devices.

Postage meter conversion apparatus

A combination of a leaf spring scale and an ajustment spring device for varying or otherwise correcting manufacturing tolerance differences effecting the spring rate of the leaf springs of the scale. Manufactured leaf springs can have a widely divergent spring rate even with small differences in thickness. The adjustment spring device in combination with the leaf springs provides a combined or overall spring rate which is the same for each scale.

Scale adjustment device

A postage meter setting device is described which includes electromechanical apparatus for positioning the various digit selector arms of a postage meter in accordance with the corresponding required postage. Stepper motors drive various digit selector arms through a mechanical linkage, which provides a one to one rotational relationship between the meter selector arms and the linkage. Use of stepper motors results in reduced wear and cost of operation.

Postage meter setting device

A twin leaf spring weighing scale, wherein the leaf springs are connected to each other in tandem about a common support. One of the leaf springs is angled above a horizontal axis, so as to deflect downwardly with an increasing effective bending length. The other leaf spring is positioned along a horizontal axis to provide a decreasing effective bending length as it deflects downwardly. The two leaf springs act together to provide a unitized leaf spring structure that has a constant spring rate throughout the weighing range of the scale.

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Norwalk, CT, United States of America

Louis T Canevari