IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING DOORS AND GATEWAYS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Heaton, of Bolton, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-ACTING
DOORS AND GATEWAYS,"
Sealed the 8th December 1857, and dated the 15th June 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Heaton at the.
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th June 1857.
I, THOMAS HEATON, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SELF-ACTING DOORS AND GATEWAYS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists of improvements upon an Invention for which I
obtained Letters Patent, bearing date the 24th day of March 1856, in the
Specification of which I claim the arrangement and construction of apparatus
to cause the doors or gateways of horse or drawing roads in mines, &c. to
close, where it is indispensably necessary that they should be closed
immediately after the person or object has passed through them; which
improvements I describe as being effected by the weight of the wagon,
carriage, person, or substance acting upon levers, rails, or platforms in
conjunction with certain mechanical contrivances, thereby dispensing with
the necessity of a person or persons to attend to them.
My present improvements consist of fixing horizontal levers at each side of
the passage or doorway turning on pivots; I curve the said levers so that each
of them nearly meet at their extreme points, and pass through holes or
apertures in the doors or gates, in which holes or apertures I fix friction
Price Sd

page_text: pullies, to allow the ends of the said levers to pass easily through them. The
doors or gates slide on cross bars or rails, as described in the Specification
above alluded to, so that when a horse, person, tub, or anything comes in contact
with the aforesaid slightly curved shafts, pressing laterally against them, the
said lateral force or pressure pushes the doors or gates sideways into recesses
prepared for them; which will remain there as long as there is anything
pressing against them; but the moment they are freed from the said lateral
pressure, the doors or gates will close of themselves, either by means of a
simple pully and weight to draw them back to their closed position, or by
giving the horizontal or cross bars or rails on which they slide a slight incline
from the centre. It will be evident that by these improvements I entirely
dispense with the necessity of platforms, and the consequent apparatus for
working the same, as shewn in my former Specification, thereby simplifying
my Invention,and reducing very considerably the first cost, wear and tear, &c.
These self-acting doors or gates are applicable to mines, the private railways
of collieries, hoists public works, parks, and other similar purposes, and,
although the plan, as described in my former Patent, may be preferable in
some instances for mines and underground work, these my present improve-
ments will be found the best.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Heaton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th December 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
HEATON, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Heaton, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Heaton,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Thomas Heaton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all tiines thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-
ACTING DOORS AND GATEWAYS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the

page_text: said Thomas Heaton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Heaton, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
This Invention consists of improvements upon an Invention for which I
obtained Letters Patent, bearing date the 24th day of March 1856, in the
Specification of which I claim the arrangement and construction of apparatus
to cause the doors or gateways of horse or drawing roads in mines &c. to close,
which it is indispensably necessary that they should be closed immediately after
the person or object has passed through them; which improvements I describe
as being effected by the weight of the wagon, carriage, person, or substance
acting upon levers, rails, or platforms, in conjunction with certain mechanical
contrivances, thereby dispensing with the necessity of a person or persons to
attend to them.
My present improvements consist in placing horizontal arms or levers at
each side of the passage or doorway, one end of each lever turning upon a pin
or pivot fixed to suitable framing, and the other end passing through an
aperture in the door, at which part the levers nearly meet, being bent for that
purpose.
In the holes or apertures there are friction pulleys to allow the ends of
the said levers to pass easily through them. The doors slide on cross bars
or rails, as described in the Specification above alluded to, so that when a
horse, person, tub, waggon, or anything comes in contact with the aforesaid
bent levers, pressing laterally against them, the said lateral force or pressure
pushes the ends of the levers and doors sideways into recesses, where they
remain as long as anything presses against the levers; but the moment the
latter are freed from the said lateral pressure, the doors close of themselves,
either by means of pulleys and weights, or by giving the cross bar or rail on
which they slide a slight decline towards the centre. Or, instead of.horizontal
levers only, they may be conjoined with springs, and in certain cases springs
may be bent, so that when anything presses against them the doors may be
opened.
The aforesaid improvements may be applied to vertical shafts or passages,
simply by placing the levers or springs in a vertical position.

page_text: These arrangements will be found more simple and economical than thos c
described in my former Specification, as I dispense with the necessity of
platforms, and the consequent apparatus for working the same,and which will
be clearly understood by reference to the accompanying three Sheets of
Drawings, with the figures and letters of reference thereon; in which Fig. 1
is a plan; and Fig. 2 an end view of my improved arrangement for opening
and closing the doors for air ways; Figs. 3 and 4 are elevations of a hoist,
shewing the application of springs for opening doors or gates; and also
another mode, in which a spring in connection with cranks and rods are
employed for effecting the same object; and Figs. 5 and 6 are elevations of
another hoist, in which are shewn two modes of opening doors, one in which
levers aided by springs are employed, and another by a lever and spring in
connection with cranks and rods.
In Figs. 1 and 2, representing the improved arrangement adapted for
horizontal passages of mines, a.represents the wagon, which acts at its upper
part as it moves onwards against the horizontal arms or levers b, placed on
their pins or fulcrums c,attached to my suitable framework at the sides of the
shaft or passage; the ends of the said levers pass through the sliding doors d,
there being anti-friction pulleys e to enable the levers to move with facility.
At the tops of the doors there are guide pulleys or rollers f, placed on the
double inclined rod or bar g, so that when the levers are pressed laterally,
the said doors open and enter the recesses, prepared for the purpose. After
the wagon, carriage, or other object has passed, and thereby taken off the
pressure against the levers, the doors return to their closed position, in
consequence of the rod or bar g declining towards the centre; or if the rod
be parallel, pulleys and weights will produce the same effect.
In Figs. 3 and 4, which are elevations of a hoist, a represents the shaft or
passage, extending from the lower to the upper floors; b, the cage; c, the rope
or chain by which it is raised and lowered; and d, the sliding doors, to be
opened by the cage as it arrives at the desired position. To the doors d
T'attach long flexible springs e, held by means of slots and pins f to the sides
of the passage. Within the cage there is an arm or lever g connected to a
shaft h, having pins or projections i, which can be moved to and fro by a
person within the cage, according to the floor or level at which the cage may
require to be stopped, the said pins coming in contact with the springs e
when the cage is in motion, thereby pushing them back and opening the
sliding doors, the springs closing them again when the cage has passed either
above or below. At I represent double doors turning upon hinges or centres,
which doors are also opened as required by the motion of 'the cage, and its

page_text: position regulated, as in the former example, by an arm or lever within it,
the said lever operating on one pin or projection i, which acts against a single
spring n having a pin, to which one end of the rod o is attached, its other end
being connected to a crank p on the pin or centre of one of the doors, another
rod y being connected to the same crank, and attached to another crank ron
the pin or centre of the other of the doors, thereby simultaneously opening
the two when the spring is acted upon by the cage as it moves up and down.
At the sides of the cage I place safety guards or catches, so that if the rope or
chain c should break the cage may be held, and thereby prevent accident; the
said guards consist of levers s placed on fulcrums t, fixed to the cage. The
levers somewhat resemble shears, and are connected by the links u to the rods
or bars v forming part of the small frame w, carrying the pins and rollers a, to
which the hooks, chain, or rope is attached. At y I place springs acting
against the levers s, so as to press them against the sides of the frames.
When the cage is in motion the links are pulled upwards, raising the levers
and lifting them off the sides of the framing, thereby causing no obstruction;
but if the rope or chain should break there is no pull upon the links, and the
levers act with the full force of the springs against the sides of the frames,
thereby effectually holding the cage. In order to prevent accidents by pulling
the cage over the top, or coming in contact with the pulley a¹, I attach to the
rope or chain ca pair of safety hooks 6', which are made to clear the pins or
rollers and also the cage by pressing against the roller c', there being either
a circular spring, shewn by the dotted lines d', or a spring of metal or
caoutchouc in the tube e', for the purpose of closing the hooks upon the pius
or rollers, as the rope or chain moves downwards. Thus the cage is unhooked
before it is carried too high, and remains stationary by means of the safety
guards or catches before described.
In Figs. 5 and 6, representing another hoist, there are pins or projections
f1, moved in and out as desired by a person within the cage, similar to those
described in Figs. 3 and 4, but the said pins come in contact with the arms or
levers g¹ on the centres ', there being slots in the levers at their connection
with the sliding doors to allow vibration; the return or closing of the doors
is effected by the springs . For doors m³, turning on hinges or centres, I
employ shorter levers n' on one side only, the said levers being acted upon by
a single pin f¹, so as to move them to and fro as the cage moves up and down,
and open the doors by a combination of rods and cranks, similar to those
described in the preceding Figures. The return movements may also be
accomplished by pulleys and weights.
In Figs. 5 and 6 I also shew the application of safety guards, but on a

page_text: larger scale, their being but one on each side of the cage instead of two ;
their action is precisely the same as those in Figs. 3 and 4, which will be
seen on inspection of the Drawing.
In Fig. 4 only one conducting rod z¹ is shewn but for certain purposes,
two may be preferable, in which case I should employ in the middle a safety
guard with double levers, as shewn in the Drawings, and for the outside,
guards having single levers, the whole being attached to a bar on each side
of the cage. Instead of the springs shewn in the Figures, springs of any
suitable description may be employed for keeping the levers up to the con-
ducting rods and framing. It is evident. that ny said self-acting doors or
gates are applicable to parks, public works, and other similar purposes
besides mines & hoists, as herein referred to..
Having thus fully described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be distinctly
understood, that I do not confine myself to the exact details herein set forth,
as such may be varied or modified without departing from the principle
thereof; but I claim as my Invention, and which, to the best of my knowledge
and belief, has not been hitherto used within the realm, the arrangement of
self acting apparatus for opening and closing the doors or gates used in
mines as air ways, and which are also applicable to hoists, private railways
of collieries, parks, public works, and other similar purposes, as such self-
acting apparatus is herein described and illustrated in the accompanying
three Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Heaton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-
named Thomas Heaton,, in the. presence of
THOS. HEATON. (L.8.)
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.