Improvements in Covers, Caps, and Lids for Closing the Entrances of Gas, Sewer, Telephone, and Electrical Supply Shafts and Holes, Gullies, and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Nov., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 20th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 15th Oct., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Covers, Caps, and Lids for Closing the Entrances of
Gas, Sewer, Telephone, and Electrical Supply Shafts and Holes,
Gullies, and the like.
We, JOHN PRICE, Civil Engineer and Surveyor, residing at "Court Hey,"
Chantry Road, Moseley, in the City of Birmingham, and JOSEPH JOHNSON, Brass-
founder, residing at 32, Wellington Road, Bilston, in the County of Stafford, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the covers, caps, lids, and gratings of general ground
holes, sewer shafts or man-holes, ventilators, ground holes of gas, telephone, and
electric supply, gullies, gulley traps, and such like, and has distinct reference
to that class of cover cap or lid which works upon a hinge or a pair of trunnions
within the framing or brick setting surrounding it.
The invention is designed to prevent such covers, caps or lids being lifted, and
the hole underneath it opened and left open by mischievous boys or ill-disposed
persons to the detriment and injury of foot passengers and general vehicular
traffic, but also to facilitate the lifting of the said covers, caps, and lids by the
proper worker attending his duty, should the said covers, caps, and lids become,
as is generally the case, immovable, without considerable force being exerted.
The invention consists in providing the said lids, covers, or gratings, with a
device for automatically locking them to the frame parts or boundary edges of
the holes or shafts carrying them and to give them an initial lift from the said
framings when the device is operated by an attendant to open the hole to which
the lid or grating forms a cover. The said device consists of a loose latch or arm,
jointedly connected to a bracket lug on the hinged lid or cover to depend from
the opening edge thereof, having upon its one end, near its joint, a projection or
right angled extension and upon its other end a hook-shaped part, and a pro-
jecting stop or shoulder and an abutment or lug on the framing carrying the
cover or cap; the said stop to form a part with which the hooked part on the
arm is adapted to engage, and the lug or abutment a part against which the
projection or extension upon the arm adjacent to its joint works as a fulcrum
when the lid or cover is being primarily prised or cleared from its seating in the
frame prior to its being lifted. Upon the extreme lower end of the depending
loose latch or arm is formed a slot or a curved part for the purpose of connecting
thereto a hooked rod, or its equivalent, which is passed between the bars of the
cover or lid when of a grid construction, or through a hole therein when of a
closed construction, for disengaging the hooked part of the depending latch from
the stop or shoulder upon the framing, and for using the said latch as a lever for
prising the opening of the lid or grating.
The depending latch always hangs vertical by its own gravitation when the
lid cover or grating is closed, and its one edge adjacent to the throat of the hook
is inclined or curved to form the means for swinging aside the said latch when it
meets the stop on the framing, on the lid being closed, until the said lid is fully

page_text: closed, when the hooked part of the latch will automatically engage at the back
of the stop. The projection or extension upon the depending arm forms the
means, by bearing against the underside of the grid or lid, for preventing the
said arm from swinging too far outwardly so as to be out of position for its hook
part to engage with the stop on the framing.
In grid-like covers or caps or gratings the rod for disengaging the latch from the
stop is pushed between the bars, but in caps or covers of a closed construction a
hole will be provided about an inch in diameter.
The prising of the hinged lid or grating does not commence until the hook
part of the said latch is swung clear of the stop or shoulder with which it engages.
Dated this 19th day of November 1897.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Agents for Applicants.
Improvements in Covers, Caps, and Lids for Closing the Entrances of
Gas, Sewer, Telephone, and Electrical Supply Shafts and Holes,
Gullies, and the like.
0
We, JOHN PRICE, Civil Engineer and Surveyor, residing at Court Hey,"
Chantry Road, Moseley, in the City of Birmingham, and JOSEPH JOHNSON, Brass-
founder, residing at 32, Wellington Road, Bilston, in the County of Stafford, 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:-
This invention relates to covers, caps, lids and gratings of general ground holes,
sewer shafts, man-holes, ventilators, ground holes of gas, telephone, and electric
supply, gullies, gulley traps, and such like, and has distinct reference to that
class of cover, cap, or lid, which works upon a hinge or a pair of trunnions within
the framing or brick setting surrounding it.
The invention is designed to prevent such covers, caps, or lids being lifted and
the hole underneath it opened and left open by mischievous boys or ill-disposed
persons to the detriment and injury to foot passengers and general vehicular
traffic, but also to facilitate the lifting of the said covers, caps, and lids by the
scavenger or proper worker attending his duty, should the said covers, caps, and
lids become, as is generally the case, immovable without considerable force being
exerted.
The invention consists in providing the said lids, covers or gratings with a
device for automatically locking them when closed to the frame parts or boundary
edges of the holes or shafts carrying them, and to give them an initial lift from
the said frame parts when the device is operated by a scavenger or worker to
open the hole to which the lid or grating forms a cover.
The device according to this invention comprises a loosely jointed arm or latch,
which is attached to the hinged part so as to depend from its underside when
closed, and which has a hook-shaped part or catch, having a curved face, and a
lifting piece or projection upon it, and a stop or shoulder and a lug or abutment
upon the frame part of the cover, cap, lid or grating to, and upon, which the
hinged part is jointed and carried; the said jointed arm or latch being adapted
to engage the stop or shoulder by its hook-shaped part or catch, and to work on
the abutment or lug through its lifting piece or projection, so as to hold the

page_text: hinged part of the frame at one time and to disengage it and give it an initial
lift at another.
The invention is practically illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings
as applied to a cover of an ordinary street gulley. In this said sheet Fig. 1 is a
top side plan of the said cover with its hinged grating closed, Fig. 2 a transverse
vertical section on the broken line F, Fig. 1, Fig. 3a similar section as Fig. 2
but with the hinged grating unlocked and given an initial lift from its seating
in the cover's frame, and Fig. 4 a similar section to Figs. 2 and 3 but showing
the hinged grating fully opened and thrown back.
In the said figs., c is the loosely jointed arm or latch, which is carried upon
a bracket lug d on the hinged grating & so as to depend from the underside of
its opening edge as, a joint pin being the connection means between the arm c
and the lug. The said arm or latch has upon its one end, near its joint, a lifting
piece or projection c², and a hook shaped part or catch ; the latter having a
curved face c. These parts are respectively adapted to work upon, and engage,
an abutment or lug a², and a stop or shoulder a³ formed upon the frame a of the
gulley cover, the said stop or shoulder to form a part with which the hook part c³
on the arm or latch is adapted to engage, and the lug or abutment a part against
which the lifting piece or projection works as a fulcrum when the grating d
is being primarily prised or cleared from its seating in the frame a prior to its
being hinged back by hand. The frame a is built up of sides at, a³, and
ends a, a, the hinged grating, d, being jointed to the side a5 by lugs and joint
pins a, a, and the side a is formed with a vertical clearance a¹0, which leads
to the abutment a², for the purpose of allowing the lifting piece or projection c³
to pass into the interior of the said side so as to be near the abutment on which
it works.
The
The jointed arm or catch is practically a prising lever and latch combined,
the parts,, constituting its short arm, and the part its long arm; this
last-named, which is adapted to be caught hold of by a rod for the operation of
the said lever and latch, is preferably formed with a curved end or other
contrivance which will prevent the rod as aforesaid slipping off its end.
grating is formed with bars and spaces in the ordinary manner, and the rod
for operating the part is inserted through one of the spaces between the said bars.
The depending lever and latch is so jointed to the grating and weighted that,
on the grating d being closed, its hooked part first comes against the curved
edge e of the abutment a², but afterwards clears it by its curved face, c, wiping
over the said edge and tipping the latch, thus swinging the latter aside until the
grating is fully home on its seating when, by the gravitating effect of the said
latch, the hooked part will engage the stop or shoulder a, and automatically
lock the said grating in a closed position.
To unlock the grating the latch must be rocked so as to clear its hooked part
from the stop or shoulder; after this the hinged grating can be prised from its
seating 3 by further rocking the part so that the lifting piece or projection c²
wipes down the abutment or lug this position being clearly shown by Fig. 3-
but it must be understood that the lifting does not commence until the hooked
part of the latch is clear of the stop or shoulder.
In caps or covers where the hinged part is not of a grating construction a hole
of about an inch in diameter would be provided in the said hinged part for the
insertion of the rod or other contrivance for locking the latch.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
I claim is:
-
First. In covers, caps, and lids of manholes, ground holes, gullies, gulley traps,
and such like, the use of a lever, latch, or jointed arm, for locking the closing
of the hinged parts or gratings to the frame parts carrying them, substantially
as described.

page_text: Second. In covers, caps, and lids of manholes, ground holes, gulley traps, and
such like, the use of a combined lever and latch for locking the closing of the
hinged part or grating to the frame parts carrying them, and for prising or
primarily lifting the said hinged parts from their seatings in the said frame parts
after the unlocking has taken place, substantially as described and set forth.
Third. In manhole, ground hole, gulley, and gulley-trap covers and lids, the
combination of a frame carrying a hinged closure or grating, and having upon
it a stop or shoulder and a lug or abutment, a hinged part or grating which is
adapted to seat itself upon or within the said frame, and a combined lever and
latch which is carried by the hinged part or grating, and which has upon it a
lifting piece and a hooked part for respectively working upon and engaging the
lug or abutment and the stop or shoulder in the frame as aforesaid, substantially
as described and set forth in Figs. 1 to 4.
Fourth. The general arrangement, combination, and fitting of the parts so as
to work in the manner described and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4.
Dated th
1011
.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Also of Liverpool, London and Manchester,
Patent Agents for the Applicants.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Also of Liverpool, London and Manchester,
Patent Agents for the Applicants.