US593757A - Swinging gate - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

" WLR. WHITE.

SWINGING GATE.

Patented Nov. fr w1 Tn: Noums mens co., Fumo-Limo.. wAsmNnroN. ny c.

2 Sheetsmshget 1.

l(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

W. R. WHITE. vsvvlwfms GATE.

No. 593,757. Patented Nov. 16, 1897.

' NiTnD Stn/ariesl- 'ATENT ii sinon.

SWINGING GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lettere rateilt No. 598,757, dated November 1e, 1897.

Application led March 2 3, l 8 9 7( construction, arrangement, and combinations y of parts as will hereinafter be more particularly described.

The invention has reference more particularly to that class of swinging gates in which the longitudinally-movable latch-bar is operated through the medium of connections between the gate and operating hand-levers therefor, and as distinguished from a number of former patents granted me on this subject the latch-bar is normally ina retracted position when the gate is closed, instead of the reverse, as heretofore.

As constructed in accordance with my former patents many of my improved gates have been provided with laterally-projecting frames both for supporting the lever o r other connections for operating the latch-bar as well as affording protection to said connections from the elements to some extent and from rubbing and interference on the part of stock within orv without the fence inclosure. In nearly every case where I haveused said ylaterally-projecting frame I have derived most excellent results therefrom; but as a matter of fact the use of such a frame limits the extent to which the gate can be opened on account of the connections between the gate and operating-levers being necessarily restricted as to length. As a rule the gates constructed in accordance with some of my former patents will operate perfectly to carry or swing the free end of the gate around to the extent of a full quarter of a circle, or, as may be said, back and forth between two points or posts lying at right angles to the support for the gate, one point or post being situated directly across the roadway from the gate-supporting post and the other point or post being in alinement with said gate-supporting post on the same side ofthe roadway serai No. e 28,858. (No model.)

therewith. This extent of movement is suffcient for all general purposes; but it fre-v quently happens to be desirable to locate a gate at or` near to a point where two roads separate from each other at other than a right 'angle--say a main road and a branch roadand which would require ordinarily that a vehicle be driven all the way through the gate-openingsay from the main roadand then to be turned almost completely around by which to gain the lateral or branch road, and which, it will be understood, is undesirvable and inconvenient. l

My present invention has forits object to provide means whereby the extent to which the gate can be opened is increased, and also to dispense with the laterally projecting frame onthe gate for any purpose whatsoever. A further object of the invention is to provide simple and effective devices for operating the latch-bar and to so construct such devices that they will project as little as possible from the side of the gate.

These and other objects I attain by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a view in perspective of a swinging gate having my improvements embodied in connection therewith, the said v iew indicating the outer post', against which the free end of the gate may be swung whenever it is desired to carry the same beyond a quarter circle or turn, by which to enable a vehicle to be driven from one road onto another or branch road directly the vehicle passes through the gate-opening. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the gate in its closed position. Fig. 3 is a top or plan view, and Fig. Llis a detail View in perspective of the lever fo1.oper ating the latch-bar. y Y

In another application, filed March 24, 1897,

p Serial No. 629,065, I have shown and' described what I term a combined rocking and oscillating lever for operating the movable latchbar and which lever is so disposed that a laterally-projecting frame isnecessary as a means of support therefor. Furthermore, in the application referred to the oscillating arm or member of the lever moves substantially in a horizontal plane and the rocking arm or member thereof works substantially in a ver- IOO tical plane. In the present instance I dispense with the laterally-projecting frame altogether, and I employ the same character of operating-lever for the latch-bar with some modification, but I reverse the arrangement 01' order, so that the oscillating arln or member of said lever works in substantially a vertical plane and the rocking arm or member thereof operates in a substantially horizontal plane. The effect is that the connection between said lever and the connecting-bar from the hand-levers is brought to or slightly above the top of the gate, whereby full sweep of said bar is obtained, and, furthermore, the said connection of the end of the said bar with the said lever is brought as close as practicable to the side of the gate, which latter is a practical necessity, in order to derive the in creased range of movement in the openin g of the gate.

In the drawings, 1 represents the gate,which may be of any ordinary construction, 2 the post, upon which the gate is supported by means of suitable hinges 3 3, and 4 the post on the opposite side of the gate-opening and against which the gate closes.

5 is a post in alinement with post 2 on the same side of the roadway therewith, and 6 is a post set beyond said post 5 and against which the gate may be carried by detaehing the stop-block 7, carried by post 5 and against which block the gate is carried under ordinary circumstances or when the gate is not placed at the junction or crossing of two roads. Posts 5 and 2 are united by a top strip 8.

lhe operating hand-levers for the gate are designated at 9 9, one being fulcrumed or mounted on a block 10, secured to post 5, and the other on a similar block or brace connecting the end of strip 8 with the post 2, and the two being movably joined together at their inner ends.

In virtue of the construction of the gate-operating devices to be described I am enabled in the present instance to greatly lessen the weight of the inner ends of said levers, and a much shorter range of movement of said inner ends is required to release the latch-bar as compared with many former constructions. I have also devised a guide for the inner end of the hand-levers that is stlong and steady and comprises a bent-wire frame a., having one end bent and projected through the top strip 8 at Z) and having the member c thereof sunken into a vertical groove or channel d, formed in said strip, and in this way said guide is not liable to turn in its bearing or support. Said guide or frame is also bent or turned outwardly at e and thence upwardly at f, the end of one of the operating handlevers working between the two vertical portions, as shown.

The gate in the present instance is preferably constructed of fiat bars 10, held apart by duplicate vertical strips 11, and the latchbar 12 is arranged to move back and forth between said vertical stri ps, and at its forward end the said latch-bar is provided with a reetangular loop 18 for engaging a shoulder on the catch or keeper 14, supported by the post 4. Said loop is of a height about equal to the space between the gate- bars 15 and 16 immediately above and below the latch-bar, and in this way the loop rest-s upon the lower one, 1G, of said bars, and the forward end of the said bar is thus guided in the movement of the bar. Said form of loop also always insures the engagement of the same with the catches or keepers on the posts at whatever position or height to which the gate may be adjusted on its hinges.

Formed with or secured to the upper bar of the gate 1 is an eye 18, arranged in a horizontal plane and projecting from the far side of the gate, and at some lower point on the gate, but above the latch-bar-say on the gate-bar just next above the lateh-bar-is another eye 19, arranged also in a horizontal plane and not quite so near to the hinged end of the gate as eye 18, and this eye 19 extends a short distance only from the near side of the gate in the direction of the inner ends of the hand-levers. The latch-bar 12 is formed a suitable distance from the hinged end of the gate with an opening 20, which is to one side of the eye 19 in the direction of the inner end of said bar or toward the hinged end of the gate. Passing through the eye 19 and having its lower end entering the openin g 20 of the latch-bar is the longer substantially vertically-disposed arm 2l of a combined roeking and oscillating lever 22, the said arm inclining slightly outward from the gate in the direction of the uppcrend thereof, but being straight, and working in a substantially vertical plane and being quite close to the side of the gate and also extending slightly above the top of the gate. The said longer arm 21 of the said lever 22 could be united with the shorter horizontally-disposed arm 23 in any suitable manner, but preferably the entire lever is in a single piece bent to form the eye or loop 24, the two arms lying orbcing arranged practically at right angles to each other in horizontal and vertical positions. The shorter arm 23 extends over and practically rests upon the upper edge of the gate, with its end bent downwardly to pass through the eye somewhat loosely, the said end being then bent slightly outward at 25, so as to prevent the arm from being lifted out of the eye. In the normal or closed position of the gate the longer arm of said lever 22 has its lower end inclined toward the hinged end of the gate an extent suiheient to move the latchbar far enough to disengage the same whenever the hand-levers are operated. struction and arrangement are such that the said lever is capable of a slight independent bodily movement vertically, since if this were not provided for the parts would practically bind or lock together at a certain open position of the gate, so that the gate could not be carried to its full open position. The effect of such an arrangement also is that the ver- IOO The eonl the said latch-bar is movedoutwardly and' tical movement of lsaid lever takes place at just about the point where a dead-center would be likely to occur, and the movement of the gate is assisted, as it were, by such movement, and the occurrence of a dead-cenv operating-levers, and it will be understood that the movement of either one of said handlevers will have its eiect upon the latch-bar and gate.

To more fully explain the nature of the operation of the combined rocking and oscillating'lever 22, let it be supposed that one of the hand-levers has been drawn down upon to open the gate. The first eect of such movement of the hand-lever will be to rock or turn the shorter arm of the lever in a hori- Zontal plane, which at the same time carries the lower end of the longer arm of the lever in the direction of the far or outer end of the latch-bar in a vertical plane, and consequently the gate .is released. Immediately following this movement of the lever 22 the connectingbar 30, by its lown swinging or gyratory movement, lifts said lever vertically to a slight extent, so that the initial pulling strain upon the gate is practically borne by the shorter arm of the lever, the momentum being relied upon in most instances to complete the movement of the gate. Now just at the point where a dead-center would be apt so occursay at about one-eighth turn of the gate--the lever 22 iscaused to be again lowered, and of course as this lowering takes place there is an ease-up between the connections, and as there is less resistance and tendency to bind the gate is carriedl over the point without catching and without'the necessity of undue manipulation ofthe hand-levers. On closing the gate the lever 22 operates in the same manner, but reversely.

It will be seen that by arranging the eye 18 to project from the far side of the gate and extending the shorter arm of the Alever 22 over anddown through the eye, as shown, I am enabled to*greatly shorten the connection between the conn ecting-bar and the gate, and it will also be seen that when the gate is being turned from one position to another no strain is exerted upon the latch-bar, since the inner end of the same is held in a suspended position by the lower end of the longer oscillating arm of said lever.

When the arrangement is such as to have the gate open only as far as the post 5, or, say, one-quarter turn, the stop-block 7 is secured to said post, and the latch-bar of the gate will be engaged by the catch on said block. When, however, it is desired to carry the gate open to a greater extent-say for live` sixteenths of a turn-so as toenable a team to be driven directly through the gate-opening onto a lateral or branch road, then the l said stop-block is removed and the gate will be carried as far as thepost 6 and'be in like manner engaged by the catch on said post. Of course when opening against the post 5 the inner ends of the operating hand-levers will be caused to remain practically in the same horizontal linewith the outer ends thereof; but when the gate is carried against the post 6 the said inner ends of the said handlevers will sink to a position corresponding to that which they occupy-when the gate is closed, and the Weight of the ends of the handlevers will maintain the latch-bar in its locked.

position. In either case, however, the gate will be securely locked until operated to be closed.

It is apparent that while I have shown a combined rocking and oscillating lever for the latch-bar which involves a peculiarity of construction and arrangement, as well as of operation, I am not limited to theprecise details of said lever, but am at liberty to alter or change the same in immaterial respects to meet different requirements in use.

l. In a gate, the combination with suitable hand operating-levers, supporting-posts therefor, and a cross-brace, of a guide for said levers comprising a frame having vone side or member thereof embedded in a groove in said braceandone end projected into or through the brace and the 'other end left free, substantially as described.

2. In a gate, the combination of a latch-bar,

operatin g hand-levers for the gate, a combined ICO rocking and oscillating lever for operating the latch-bar, the same having an independent movement vertically, and a connecting-bar between said lever and the hand-levers, substantially -as described.

3. In a gate, the combination of a latch-bar, operating hand-levers for the gate, a lever for operating thejlatch-bar having a short arm connecting with the gate and rocking in a horizontal plane above the latch-bar, and a longer armoscillating in a substantially vertical plane to move the bar, anda connecting-barl between said lever and the hand operatinglevers, substantially as described.

4. In a gate, the combination of a latch-bar, y

operating hand-levers for the gate, a lever for operating the latch-bar having a short arm .connecting with the gate and rocking in a horizontal plane, and a longer arm oscillating in a substantially vertical plane to move the bar, said lever having an independent vertical movement, and a connecting-bar between said lever and the inner ends of the hand-levers, substantially as described.

5. In a gate, the combination of a latch-bar, operating hand-levers for the gate, a lever for operating the latch-bar having a limited vertical movement and constructed of a short arm and a long arm joined by an eye or loop, the said short arm connecting with the gate, and the said long arm having a working bear- IIC ing on the gate, and a bar in movable connection with said eye or loop and with one of the hand operating-levers, substantially as described. v

G. In a gate, the combination of a latch-bar, operating hand-levers for the gate, a combined rocking and oscillating lever for operating the latch-bar the same having an independent vertical movement and being constructed of a short arm in movable connection with the gate at the top, and a long arm in movable connection with the bar, and a connecting-bar between said lever and one of the hand-levers, substantially as described.

7. In a gate, the combination of a latch-bar, a horizontal bearing projecting from the far side of the gate at the top, and a similar bearing projecting from the opposite side of the gate above the latch-bar and to one side of said iirst bearing, a combined rocking and oscillating lever having a short arm passing through the iirst bearing and secured against vertical displacement, and a long arm inclining in the direction of the hinged end of the gate and passing through the second bearing and being in movable connection with the latch-bar, and a connecting-bar between said lever and the inner end of one of the handlevers, substantially as described.

8. In a gate, the combination of posts arranged in the sweep or path of the free end of the gate, and at a right angle and an obtuse angle, respectively, to the plane of the gate when closed, the gate provided with a movable latch-bar, operating hand-levers for the gate, means for operating the latch-bar, and connections between said means and the inner end of one of the hand-levers, substantially as described.

9. The combination in a gate, of a longitudinally-movable latch-bar constructed with a loop for engaging the gate-posts in its open and closed positions, said loop being extended vertically and supported and guided between guides above and below the latch-bar, substantially as described.

lO. The combination in a gate constructed of longitudinal rods or bars, of a movable latch-bar constructed with a loop for engaging the gate-posts in its open and closed positions, said loop being supported and guided between the gate rods or bars next adjacent to the latch-bar above and below the latter, substantiallyT as described.

1l. The combination in a gate, of a longitudinally-movablelatch-bar constructed with a loop for engaging the gate-posts in its open and closed positions, said loop being supported and guided between guides on the gate above and below the latch-bar, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

vXVILLIAM RICHARD WHITE.

Witnesses: JOHN F. WHITE, E. E. DONNELLY.

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