Patent ID: 6453494
Filing Date: 2002-09-24
Classification: E01D

Abstract:
In a movable bridge, supported upon piers, comprising a pair of opposed leaf sections each movable to an open position or to a closed position, respectively, and each further comprising a deck supported in combination by main bridge support members, bearings upon which said movable bridge is mounted on said piers, and live load bearings which contact said movable bridge when in position to carry traffic, the improvement comprising:at least one pair of center locks mounted between said pair of opposed leaf sections for transferring the live load shear from one leaf section to the other, each center lock of said at least one pair of center locks including: a sliding block mounted on one of said pair of opposed leaf sections, said sliding block being adapted for sliding horizontally; a unitary socket member retained within said sliding block, said socket member having a throughhole extending therethrough; a lock bar slidably mounted on the other one of said pair of leaf sections and oriented parallel to the transverse axis of the bridge, said lock bar being adapted for reversibly sliding through the throughhole of said socket member; and thrusting means in operative engagement with the lock bar for reversibly thrusting the lock bar through the throughhole of the socket member when the pair of opposed leaf sections are in the closed position, said lock bar in its coupled position being wholly surrounded by the throughhole of its associated said socket member, wherein each of the at least one pair of center locks provides separate accommodation of engagement and deflection of the leaf sections respectively.