Improvements in Locking Apparatus for Level Crossing and similar Gates.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 18th Dec., 1889-Accepted, 25th Jan., 1890
IDIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locking Apparatus for Level Crossing and similar
Gates.
We, WALTER HOLLAND, of the Vulcan Works, Worcester, Civil Engineer, and
WILLIAM THOMAS PAGE, of the same address, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention has reference to locking apparatus used for fastening level crossing
and similar gates.
It is customary when gates are worked from a signal cabin or lodge to secure
them in their relative positions by appliances called gate locks or stops. Usually
such an appliance comprises a back or outer stop against which the gate closes
and a front or inner stop that rises in an automatic manner after the gate has passed
over it in closing against the back stop-By a lever in a signalman's cabin or in a
lodge (as the case may be) the back stop is raised and the front stop is permitted to
rise, or both are lowered as required.
It has been found in practice that gates are liable on striking such back or outer
stops as above mentioned to rebound and return over and beyond the front or inner
stops, thus leaving the gates unfastened and free to be forced open although the
persons working them are under the impression that they are properly secured, and
in this way especially in the case of level crossings of railways there arises considerable
risk of accident from the giving of signals permitting trains or engines to proceed
when the gates are not in fact closed as they are supposed to be.
Now our invention has reference to means designed to obviate these evils and to
render the working of gates such as referred to more safe and certain by detecting
and indicating to the persons working the same whether the gates are closed and
locked or fastened or not.
An arrangement for this purpose is as follows.
To the back or outer stop there is pivotted or attached a bell crank lover to one
arm of which is attached a detector bolt or plate working in or through or in con-
nection with the rod that actuates the stop. With such an arrangement during the
first portion of the stroke or travel of the lever for working the stops they will be
caused to assume the proper positions for catching and securing the gates and by
the intervention of the detector bolts or plate in connection with the bell crank iever
the completion of the travel of the lever will be prevented.
When however the gate has been worked or brought into and held in proper
position between the back and front stops, the bell crank lever will be caused to
withdraw the detector bolt or plate thus allowing the moving over of the lever
to be completed, and indicating to the person in charge that the gate is properly
sécured!
During this second portion of the travel of the lever the inner stop will be locked
thereby preventing its being pressed down and the gate being forced open.
Some gates are fastened by a hook like catch that engages with a bar of the gate :
in such a case we employ an arrangement as follows.
To the hook like catch is connected a slotted rod that can be locked to keep the
gate securely fastened or can be actuated to move the hook like catch in such a way
as to release the gate, as required, through the medium of a three armed lever
worked through suitable connections from a hand lever located in any convenient
place.
If the gate be not shut when the lever is moved over to lock the catch the fact

page_text: will be detected because a solid part of the rod (or a detector plate) will be opposite
to and will arrest the locking bolt and consequently also the lever.
Dated this 19th day of March 1889.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locking Apparatus for Level Crossing and similar
Gates.
We, WALTER HOLLAND, of the Vulcan Works, Worcester, Civil Engineer, and
WILLLIAM THOMAS PAGE, of the same address, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our invention has reference to locking apparatus used for fastening level crossing
and similar gates.
It is customary when gates are worked from a signal cabin or lodge to secure
them in their relative positions by appliances called gate locks or stops. Usually
such an appliance comprises a back or outer stop against which the gate closes and a
front or inner stop that rises in an automatic manner after the gate has passed over
it in closing against the back stop-By a lever in a signalman's cabin or in a lodge
(as the case may be) the back stop is raised and the front stop is permitted to rise,
or both are lowered as required.
It has been found in practice that gates are liable, on striking such back or outer
stops as above mentioned to rebound and return over and beyond the front or inner
stops, thus leaving the gates unfastened and free to be forced open although the
persons working them are under the impression that they are properly secured, and in
this way, especially in the case of level crossings of railways, there arises considerable
risk of accident from the giving of signals permitting trains or engines to proceed
when the gates are not in fact closed as they are supposed to be.
Now our invention has reference to means designed to obviate these evils and to
render the working of gates such as referred to more safe and certain by detecting
and indicating to the persons working the same whether the gates are closed and
locked or fastened or not.
An arrangement for this purpose is as follows.
To the back or outer stop there is or are pivotted or attached a bell crank lever or
levers actuated by each gate and to one arm of which or of each of which is attached
a detector bolt or plate working in or through or in connection with the rod that
actuates the stop. With such an arrangement during the first portion of the stroke
or travel of the lever for working the stops they will be caused to assume the proper
positions for catching and securing the gate and by the intervention of the detector
bolt or plate in connection with the bell crank lever or levers the completion of the
travel of the operating lever will be prevented.
When however the gate has been worked or brought into and is in its proper place
between the back and front stops, the position the detector bolt or plate or bolts or plates
will have been caused by the bell crank lever or levers to assume, will be such as to
allow the moving over of the operating lever to be completed, thus indicating to
the person in charge that the gate is properly secured.
During this second portion or completion of the travel of the lever the front
stop will be locked thereby preventing its being pressed down and the gate being
opened.
In the accompanying drawings which shew an apparatus according to this invention
constructed with duplicate detector bolts or plates,
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the apparatus;

page_text: Figs. 2 and 3 are similar views to Fig. 1 but showing some of the parts of the
apparatus in different positions as hereinafter described.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken in a plane at right angles to Fig. 1, showing the
back stop 1 plate 17 and some of the other parts of the apparatus in the same
relative positions as in Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a similar view to Fig. 4 showing the back stop 1 plate 17 and certain
other parts in the same relative positions shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a sectional plan showing the relative arrangement of the back stop 1,
arm 5, rods 12 and lever S, 8.
1 is the back stop arranged to slide vertically in guides 2, 3 within a case 4.
This stop is operated by an arm 5 that is pivotted at 6 and extends through a hole 7
in the stop. This arm is acted upon at its bifurcated free end as hereinafter described
by an extension 8* (Fig. 5) of one arm 8 of an elbow lever the other arm 8* of
which is connected by a rod 9 to an operating lever located in a signal cabin or other
suitable situation. 10 is the front stop forming one arm of a lever pivotted at 11
and whose other arm 10 is loaded with a weight. The front stop 10 has connected
to it, rods 12 each formed with a slot 12" into which extends a pin 13 projecting from
opposite sides of the arm 5 (Fig. 5). 14, 14 are two bell crank levers; each is
pivoited to the back stop 1. To one arm of each of these levers is jointed a detector
bolt or plate 15 formed with a notch 16 (see Fig. 4). The other arm of each lever 14
projects upward and when the stops are set to receive the gate, is in an inclined
attitude as shown in Fig. 1 when the gate 16, a small portion only of which is shown,
is not closed; then the distance between the upper arms of the levers 14 and front
stops 10 is less than the width of the lower end of the gate. 17 is a locking plate
jointed to the arm 8ª of the lever S, 8" and is arranged to work through a slot 1ª in
the back stop 1, also through a fixed guide 18 in the casing 4. The hole in the
guide 18 is wider at one end than at the other to allow of angular movement of the
plate 17. The plate 17 is provided at each side with projections 19 so formed and
arranged that they can enter the notches 16 in the detector bolts or plates 15, when
these notches are in line with them. The rods 12 are each provided at one side with
a projection 20, the two projections 20 being so arranged as to be above or over the
projections 19 when the lever 8 and plate 17 have been fully moved to the right as
shown in Fig. 3.
The free end of the arm 5 is bifurcated as shown, to engage with and be operated
by the adjacent end of arm 8 of the lever 8, 8ª during a part of the motion of this
lever in each direction when locking and unlocking the gate. The two parts 5
and 5 of the lever 5 are made with curved surfaces at 5* so formed that the adjacent
end of the lever arm 8 may travel over one or other of these surfaces whilst the lever
is completing its travel in one direction or the other. At this time the lever 8 8ª
serves to lock the arm 5 either in its uppermost position as shewn in full lines
in Fig. 1, or in its lowermost position as shewn in dotted lines in the same Fig.
In Figs. 1 and 2 the stops 1 and 10 are shewn in full lines, as having been raised
by the partial movement of lever S, 8" and rod 9 to the right, ready to receive the
gate 16 which closes in the direction of the arrow. The further movement of the
lever S, 8 rod 9 and consequently that of the operating lever in the signal cabin will
however be prevented by the projections 19 on the plate 17 coming into contact with the
unnotched parts of the detector bolts or plates 15 and the signalman will be unable
to release the signal the operation of which is made dependent upon the completion
of the travel of the operating lever attached to rod 9.
As the gate closes in the direction of the arrow it will first depress the front
stop 10 against the action of the weight on the lever arm 10%, and then coming in
contact with the upper end of the bell crank levers 14 will move these levers and the
locking bolts or plates 15 connected thereto into the positions shewn in Fig. 2 with the
notches 16 in the locking bolts or plates in line with the projections 19 on the plate 17.
The moving over of the operating lever in the signal cabin, with the rod 9 attached

page_text: .thereto, the lever 8, 8ª and the plate 17 can then be completed these parts then
assuming the positions shown in Fig. 3 and releasing the signal 'in connection with
or controlled by these parts. The projections 19 then come below the projections 20
on the rods 12 and consequently lock the front stop 1 in the raised position into
which it automatically moves after the passage over it of the gate.
When the gate is to be released the rod 9 is moved to the left so as to cause the
lever 8, 8 arm 5 and rods 12 to assume the positions shewn in dotted lines in
Figure 1 and to lower the back and front stops.
Some gates are fastened by a hook-like catch that engages with a bar or stud on
the gate in such a caso we employ an arrangement as follows:-
To the hook like catch is connected a slotted rod that can be locked to keep the
gate securely fastened or can be actuated to move the hook like catch in such a way
as to release the gate, as required, through she medium of a three armed lever
worked through suitable connections from a hand lever located in any convenient
place.
If the gate be not shut when the lever is moved over to lock the catch the fact
will be detected because a solid part of the rod (or a detector plate) will be opposite
to, and will arrest the locking bolt and consequently also the lever.
Fig. 6 is an elevation of such an arrangement of apparatus, the gate shewn partly
in section, being open.
Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the gate closed but not locked.
Fig. 8 shews the gate locked in its closed position.
Fig. 9 is an elevation (partly in section) at right angles to Fig. 6 showing part of
⚫the apparatus.
21 is the hook like catch pivotted at 22 to a slamming post 23 fixed in the ground.
16 is the gate hinged to another post not shown, and provided with a bar or
stud 16 with which the catch 21 engages when the gate is closed. To the catch is
jointed a rod 24 formed with a slot 25 at its lower end, and with a hole 26 to receive
a locking bolt 27. The rod 24 serves as a detector and the hole 26 therethrough is
so arranged that when the catch 21 is engaged with the gate bar or stud 16" as shewn in
Fig. 7 is in line with the locking bolt so that such bolt can pass through it. The
locking bolt 27 is jointed to the arm 8 of a three armed lever S 8 8 and is
arranged to work through a suitable guide 18" carried by a plate 28 secured to the
slamming post and to which plate the lever is pivotted. The rod 24 also works
through the guide 18 but in a direction approximately at right angles to the locking
bolt. To the free end of the arm S of the three armed lever, is attached a stud 29
that extends through the slot 25 in the rod 24, and whereby this rod can be lifted,
to disengage the catch 21 from the bar or stud 16ª of the gate when necessary.
29 is a washer to retain the stud within the slot 25. The arm 8" of the lever is
jointed to a rod 9 that is worked from the signal cabin by a suitable hand lever.
When the several parts of the apparatus are in the relative positions shown in Fig. 6,
with the gate open, then the lever 8, 8a 8b cannot be moved to lock the catch because
the hole 26 in the rod is out of line with the locking bolt which will consequently act
against a solid part of the rod 24 which then serves as a detector. If the gate be
then closed in the direction of the arrow, its bar or stud 16ª coming in contact with.
the inclined front surface of the catch 21 will raise this catch so as to pass under and
engage with it as shown in Fig. 7 the slot 25 in the rod 24 permitting this movement to
take place independently of the three armed lever. The hole 26 being thus brought into
line with the locking bolt 27, the three armed lever can then be moved by the rod 9 into
the position shown in Fig. 8, and the locking bolt caused to pass through the rod 24
and lock this rod and catch 21 and consequently the gate, in the closed positions.
By moving the rod 9 in the opposite direction, the locking bolt is first caused to
move to the left and unlock the rod 24 and catch, and the stud 29 which will then
have travelled to the top of the slot 25 will act against the rod and lift it and the
catch so as to release the gate.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The combination with a stop or catch for a level crossing gate or similar gate,
of a detector (or detectors) adapted to normally prevent through suitable mechanism
the moving over of a lever in a signal cabin or other place to secure or lock the
gate, the arrangement being such that by the closing of the gate the detector (or
detectors) will be caused to assume, and whilst the gate remains closed will be retained
in a position (or positions) such as to permit the moving over of the lever for securing
or locking the gate to be completed.
2. Our improved locking apparatus for level crossing and similar gates with
detector or detectors substantially as and for the purpose herein before described with
reference to and shewn in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive of the drawings annexed.
3. Our improved locking apparatus for level crossing and similar gates wherein a
detector is combined with the catch substantially as and for the purpose herein-
before described with reference to and shewn in Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive of the drawings
annexed.
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.