IMPROVEMENTS IN GATES AND SLUICES FOR DOCKS, LOCKS, AND BASINS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Goold Morony Stoney, of Glasgow, in
the County of Lanark, North Britain, Civil Engineer, for the In-
vention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GATES AND SLUICES FOR DOCKS, LOCKS, AND
BASINS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Goold Morony'
Stoney at the Office of the Commissioners, of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 11th March 1874.
•
I, FRANCIS GOOLD MORONY STONEY, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GATES AND SLUICES FOR DOCKS,
LOCKS, AND BASINS," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to simple, economical, and convenient arrange-
ments of sluices or by-pass valves for docks, locks, or basins, which
sluices can be and are by preference adapted to the gates themselves.

page_text: This arrangement will in many cases be found more advantageous than
equally large culverts in masonry, whilst in other cases culverts of the
desired size cannot conveniently be constructed.
The improved sluices can be applied to gates constructed principally
of iron or to those constructed principally of wood, and do not
necessitate an otherwise undesirable thickness in the gates nor one that
is not usual in existing gates.
In a preferable modification of the improved arrangements, four
sluices or valves are combined in a set of two pairs. Each valve is a
horizontal plate of a rectangular form, and fitted to close a rectangular
opening in the horizontal web of a transverse cast-iron beam arranged to
form part of the framing of the gate, and which more than compensates
for the necessary openings in the plating, sheeting, or planking of the
gate. Of these sluice beams, as they may be termed, there are two, one
over the other, and each has two of the sluice openings in it, those of
one beam being directly below those of the other. The valve of one
sluice opening is connected by rods to that of the opening immediately
above or below it, and their distance apart is carefully adjusted by
means of screw nuts, so that they may close their openings simul-
taneously. The spaces above and below the sluice beams are cased, but
with openings for the inlet and outlet of the water in their inner and
outer vertical sides, such openings being arranged so that the water will
pass downwards through one sluice opening of each vertical pair and
upwards through the other sluice opening of the same pair; in conse-
quence of which arrangement the pressures on the two connected
valves when closed arc opposed to each other and balanced, or nearly so;
and the valves thus act like what are known as double beat or
equilibrium valves. The weight of the valves still remains to be
sustained, and this is done by connecting the two pairs of valves to the
opposite ends of a horizontal lever fitted above them, so that the pairs
of valves counterbalance each other. To admit of this arrangement,
one pair of valves. is arranged to close downwards and the other
upwards.
For opening and closing the valves an internally screwed block is
jointed to a convenient part of the lever, and is acted on by a vertical
screw spindle held in a pedestal on the top of the gate; and fitted with a
hand wheel. The pair of valves which close downwards is connected.to

page_text: the lever with a slot, so that after these valves have descended to their
seats, the lever can still be moved a little to insure the drawing of the
other pair of valves completely up to their seats.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Francis Goold Morony Stoney in the Great Scal
Patent Office on the 9th September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
GOOLD MORONY STONEY, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, Nortli
Britain, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Francis Goold Morony Stoney;
Her special licence that I, the said Francis Goold Morony Stoney, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Francis Goold Morony Stoney, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United King
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GATES AND SLUICES FOR DOCKS,
LOCKS, AND BASINS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, tho
said Francis Goold Morony Stoney, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and scals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Francis Goold Morony Stoney, do'
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner.
the same is to be performed: to be particularly described and ascertained:

page_text: in and by the following statement in writing, reference being had to
the accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to simple, economical, and convenient
arrangements of sluices or by-pass valves for docks, locks, or basins,
which sluices can be, and are by preference, adapted to the gates them-
selves. This arrangement will in many cases be found more
advantageous than equally large culverts in masonry, whilst in other
cases culverts of the desired size cannot be conveniently constructed.
My improved sluices can be applied to gates constructed principally"
of iron, or to those constructed principally of wood, and do not
necessitate an otherwise undesirable thickness in the gates, nor one that
is not usual in existing gates.
In a preferable modification of my improved arrangements, four
sluices or valves are combined in a set of two pairs in such a way, that
the pressure on cach valve is counterbalanced by that on the other of
the pair, whilst cach pair counterbalances the weight of the other pair.
Each valve is a horizontal plate of a rectangular form, and is fitted to
close a rectangular opening in the horizontal web of a transverse cast-
iron beam arranged to form part of the framing of the gate, and which
beam more than compensates for the necessary openings in the plating,
shecting, or planking of the gate.
And in order that my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood, I hereunto append a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to, and representing
parts of a gate as fitted with a set of my improved valves. In these
Drawings the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or
like parts wherever they are repeated.
:
Figure 1 is a sectional face elevation of the gate; Figures 2 and 3.
are horizontal sections; and Figure 4 is a tranverse vertical section as
taken through a pair 1, 2, of the valves that are shown in section in
Figure 1. The gate is in this example represented as constructed
principally of iron, and as having as part of its structure two cast-iron
beams 5, 6, which beams are formed each with two sluice openings 7, 8,
9, 10, for the passage of water vertically through. For closing the
sluice openings, which are strengthened by cross bars, there are two
pairs of valves 1, 2, and 3, 4, and one pair is suspended by means of a
rod 11 and links 12 from one end of a lever 13, to the other end of

page_text: which lever the other pair of valves is similarly connected by links 14
and a rod 15. The two valves of each pair are further connected to cach
other by screwed tie rods 16 which admit of the accurate adjustment of
the distance between the two valves, so that both may close against the
seats formed for them in the sluice beams 5, 6. The valves are guided
to their seats by guide eyes formed in the middle cross bars of the sluice
openings and through which the suspending rods 11, 15, pass. Ports or
openings 17, 18, 19, 20, are formed in the vertical outside plating or
sheeting of the gate to give access and egress to the water to and from
the sluice openings 7, 8, 9, 10; and these ports are arranged in such a
way that the water passes upwards through the openings in one sluico
bcam, 5 or 6, and downwards through those of the other, as will be
understood by the arrows in Figure 4. In consequence of this arrange-
ment the pressure, when the valves are shut, on the upper valve 1, 3, of
cach pair will be balanced by the opposite pressure on the lower
valves 2, 4; and as the weight of one pair of valves is counterbalanced
by that of the other pair in consequence of the two pairs being
suspended from the opposite ends of the lever 13, very little power is
required for opening or closing the valves.
The mechanism shown in the Drawing for moving the valves consists
simply of a spindle 21 carried by a pedestal 22 on the top of the gate,
and having a handle on its upper end, whilst its lower end is screwed
and entered into a swivelling nut 23 fitted to the lever 13. The pair of
valves 3, 4, which closes downwards is connected to the lever 13 with
elongated eyes in the links 14 or in the end of the lever, so that after
these valves have descended to their seats the lever can still be moved a
little to insure the drawing of the other pair of valves 12, completely
up to their seats.
When the gate is made principally of wood I still prefer to introducc
into the structure cast-iron beams with sluice openings formed through
them, such beams being of course adapted to the wood framing, whilst
the rods connecting and suspending the valves are passed through and
guided by the transverse wooden beams.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that

page_text: what I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The constructing of gates for docks, locks, and basins, with balanced
sluices or by-pass valves, substantially such as are herein described and
delineated.
2. The arranging of sluices or valves for docks, locks, and basins in
sets of four combined so that the pressures and weights are balanced,
or nearly so, substantially in the manner herein described and
delineated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Goold Morony Stoney,
have hereunto set my hand and scal, this Fifth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
FRANCIS GOOLD MORONY STONEY. (L.S.)