Improvements in the Mode and Means of Automatically Opening and Closing Road Gates.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Mar., 1886.
Complete Left, 28th Dec., 1886.
Complete Accepted, 28th Jan., 1887.
RESERV
Improvements in the Mode and Means of Automatically Opening
and Closing Road Gates.
I, THEODORE GERRARD, of 45 George Street, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention, to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in the mode and means, or arrangements of
mechanism, for opening road gates while a vehicle is approaching and closing them
after the vehicle has passed through, all in an automatic manner without requiring to
be handled by the Driver of the vehicle or other attendant.
The improvements consist in mounting or hanging the gate to its main post at the
top in the usual manner to a fixed bearing projecting from the main piller or wall, so
that it can be raised up through the bearing, and carrying the lower swivelling pivot
journal in a footstep bearing a little above the level of the roadway, and secured in
the front of a hanging lever jointed by a universal joint to a lateral pin projecting out
from the piller or wall a considerable distance above the footstep bearing. This lever
is carried down through a recess plate fitted at the level of the ground a considerable
distance, with a heavy weight at its lower end, to bring it always to its normal
vertical position with the gate hanging level in its bearings which in this position
would be vertical, with the sneck lever of the gate at the outer end resting in the
catch on the piller or wall at the opposite side of the roadway with the gate closed.
The weighted lever below the ground is made to swing to one side in a crescent
groove in the plate through which it works at the level of the ground; so that when
pulled in one direction it throws the footstep bearing of the gate outwards into one
horn of the crescent groove, thus raising the gate and throwing it off the plumb which
raises the sneck lever out of its catch on the gate post, and causes the gate to swing
open, and sneck itself in a catch for the purpose in a short piller erected in a line with
the main pillar at the side of the road. This pulling of the lever carrying the
footstep bearing is effected by long connecting rods from it working in a channel
parallel to and below the surface of the road and having their distant free ends con-
nected to vertical levers projecting up and down from two transverse rocking shafts
D
077

page_text: working in channels across one of the wheel tracks at some considerable distance
from the gateway on either side. Each of these rocking shafts have double vertical
levers projecting up through recesses in the roadway. Thus when a cart or carriage
drives up towards the closed gate, one of the wheels comes in contact with one of
these projecting levers and pushes it forward until it comes down upon the plate
through which it passes, when the wheel rolls over it. This done a catch on one
arm of a lever falls down upon the lever and keeps it in this position, so that
should the vehicle be backed on to first projecting lever as might happen when a horse
is restive, the gate will not shut until this catch is relieved by the wheel of the vehicle.
By the lever being pushed forward the vertical arms and connecting rods pull the
weighted lever carrying the footstep bearing with the gate resting upon it and thus
push or put the gate off the plumb and cause it to swing open, when it is held open by
a sneck on the small piller as before explained.
Thus when the vehicle passes through the gateway the wheel of same rolls over the
catch lever that holds the first lever in its place then it comes in contact with the
second lever and pushing it forward pulls the footstep lever in the opposite direction
and causes the gate to swing back towards its normal closed position and makes itself
fast by the catch and leaves the gate secured in its closed central position.

page_text: and Closing Road Gates.
I, THEODORE GERRARD, of 45, George Street, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, 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
This invention relates to improvements in the mode of and means or arrangements
of mechanisin, for opening road gates while a vehicle is approaching and closing them
after the vehicle has passed through, all in an automatic manner without requiring to
be handled by the Driver of the vehicle or other attendant.
The improvements consist in mounting or hanging the gate on its main post at the
top in the usual manner, by a fixed bearing projecting from the main pillar or wall, so
that the pivot of the gate can be raised up through the bearing, and in carrying the
lower end of the pivot or journal in a footstep bearing a little above the level of the
roadway, and secured in the front of a hanging lever jointed by a universal joint to a
lateral pin projecting out from the pillar or wall a considerable distance above the
footstep bearing. This lever is carried down (through a plate fitted at the level of the
ground) for a considerable distance and has a heavy weight at its lower end tending
to bring it always to its normal or vertical position with the gate hanging level in its
bearings and the sneck lever of the gate at the outer end resting in the catch on the
pillar or wall at the opposite side of the roadway the gate being thus closed. The
weighted lever below the ground is made to swing to one side in a crescent-shaped
slot in the plate through which it works; so that when pulled in one direction it
throws the footstep bearing of the gate outwards by the weighted lever passing into
one end of the crescent-shaped slot thereby raising the gate and throwing it off the
plumb which raises the sneck lever out of its catch on the gate post, and causes the
gate to swing open, and sneck itself in a catch provided for the purpose in a short
pillar erected in a line with the main pillar at the side of the road. This pulling of
the lever carrying the footstep bearing is effected by long connecting rods working in
a channel below the surface of the road and having their other ends connected to
vertical levers projecting from two transverse rocking shafts working in channels
across one of the wheel tracks at some considerable distance from the gateway on
either side. Each of these rocking shafts has a vertical lever projecting up through
openings in the roadway. When a cart or carriage drives up towards the closed
gate, one of the wheels comes in contact with one of these projecting levers and
pushes it forward until it comes down upon the plate through which it passes, and the
wheel then rolls over it. A catch on one arm of a lever then falls down upon the
vertical lever and keeps it in this position, so that should the vehicle be backed on to
the vertical lever as might happen when a horse is restive, the gate will not shut
until the catch is released by the action of the wheel of the vehicle.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will proceed to describe
the same by reference to the accompanying drawings in which figure 1 represents a

page_text: longitudinal section of a roadway shewing a road gate in section provided with my
arrangement of mechanism for automatically opening and closing the same, the
gate being shewn in its closed position; figure 2 is a plan of figure 1; figure 3 is a
similar view to figure 1 but shewing the gate in elevation in its open position;
figure 4 is an elevation (taken at right angles to figure 1) of the lower portion of one
of the gate pillars or posts and gate; figure 5 is an elevation taken at right angles
to figure 4; figure 6 is a plan of the same. Figures 4, 5 and 6 are drawn to a larger
scale than figures 1, 2 and 3. Similar letters in all the figures represent similar
parts.
a, represents the gate, and b, the main post on which the gate a, at its upper part is
mounted or hung in the usual manner by the fixed bearing c, projecting from the
post b; d, is the bearing in which the lower end of the pivot e, of the gate is carried
at a small distance above the level of the roadway A the said end of the pivot being
cranked or bent as shewn in figures 3 and 4 of the drawings; f, is the hanging lever
to which the bearing d, is fixed and g, is the universal joint by which the lever fis
pivotted to the pin a', projecting out from the pillar or post b, above the bearing d;
h, is the plate fitted level with the ground and through which the lever f, passes
downwards as shewn; i, is the weight on the lower end of the lever f, which always
tends to bring the lever into a vertical position; j, is the sneck lever at the outer end
of the gate a, and k, is the catch into which it takes on the pillar or post 1, at
the opposite side of the roadway A when thegate is closed as in figures 1 and 2 ; m, is
the crescent-shaped slot in the plate h, thro ughwhich the weighted lever f, passes and
swings outwards and towards one side of the post b, when the gate is opened as in
figure 3, n, representing the catch into which the sneck lever j, then takes, and which
is fixed to the short pillar or post o, erected in a line with the main pillar b, at the
side of the road A; m¹, is a radius bar pivotted at n', below the plate h, and serving
to guide the lever f, in the crescent-shaped slot m; p, and p¹, are the long connecting
rods working in channels q, and q', below the surface of the roadway A; one end of
each of the said rods is jointed at r, and r¹, to the lever f, and by their means the
lever, is operated; s, and s¹, are the vertical levers to which the other ends of the
rods p, and pl, are jointed, t, and t¹, are the transverse rocking shafts from which
the levers s, and s¹, respectively project upwards the lever s¹also projecting down-
wards from the said shaft; u, and u¹, are the channels in which the shafts t, and t¹,
work, the said channels being formed at a suitable distance from the gateway on
either side as shewn and across and below one of the wheel tracks; v, and v¹, are the
vertical levers which project up through openings w, and w³, in the roadway and are
carried by and operate the rocking shafts t and t¹; x, y, and x¹, y¹, are the levers
having the catches z, and z¹, respectively on their longer arms a, and x¹, the said
catches taking over pins 61, and 62, on the vertical levers s, and s², when the latter have
been moved into the position shewn in figure 3, thereby securing the levers and s¹,
with the gate in its open position; the shorter arms y, and y', project upwards through
openings c, and c², in the roadway A, and, when the said arms are operated by the
wheel of the vehicle passing over them, the levers s, and s¹, are released and are free
to be moved into the position shewn in figures 1 and 2 by the weight i, and lever f,
assuming their vertical position assisted by a weight a' on the lever s¹, which
movement closes the gate; d¹, and d², are the fulcrums of the levers x, y, and x', y².
The joints of the rods p, and p¹, on the levers s, s¹, and f, are made somewhat loose
to allow the lever s, or s¹, to be moved by the weight i, or a², respectively sufficiently
to just disengage it from its catch when the wheel of a vehicle after having forced
forward the lever v, or v¹, in moving towards the gate a, depresses the shorter arm of
the lever x, y, or x, y, as the case may be.
The operation is as follows:-
The gate, being closed as shewn in figures 1 and 2, if the driver of a vehicle
approaching the gate from the left-hand side for example, wishes to drive through the
gateway, in order to open the gate it is simply necessary for him to cause one of the
wheels of his vehicle to come against the lever v, whereby the said lever, as well as
the lever ¹, will be forced from the position shewn in figures 1 and 2, to that shown

page_text: in figure 3: at the same time the levers s, and s¹, being fixed on the same rocking
shafts t, and t, as the levers v, and ¹, will operate the rods p, and p¹, and force the
lever f, to move outwards from the post b, and to one side thereof as shewn, the
lever f, being guided into this position by the radius bar m¹; by this movement of
the lever f, the pivot e, of the gate a, will be inclined towards the right-hand side, and
the opposite end of the gate will be raised and the sneck lever j, will pass up out of its
catch k, on the post 1; the gate a, will by reason of its inclined position now swing
open into the position shewn in figure 3, when it will have reassumed a vertical
position, the sneck lever j, passing into the catch n, on the post o; the driver then
causes the wheel of his vehicle to pass over the shorter arm y, of the lever a, y, and
the lever s, will be moved by the action of the weight i, just sufficiently to release it
from its catch; the vehicle having passed through the gateway, the driver thereof
causes the hereinbefore mentioned wheel to pass over the short arm y', of the
lever a, y, which arm will be thereby depressed and will raise the catch ¹, from
engagement with the pin 62; the lever s¹, being by this action released, both the
levers and s, will be brought back to the position shewn in figures 1 and 2, by the
weights i, and a²; the free end of the gate will in this manner again be.raised and its
pivot inclined in an opposite direction to that stated when opening the gate; the sneck
lever will therefore be raised out of the catch n, and the gate will swing back into its
closed position as shewn in figures 1 and 2, and will in this position again be vertical.
It will be obvious that a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction to that herein-
before described could be caused to operate the mechanism in a like manner to that
already stated but the wheel of the vehicle would in that case of course come in contact
at first with the lever v¹, to open the gate instead of the lever v, and finish by operating
the catch lever x, y, to close the gate.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
:-
1. The herein described method of automatically opening and closing a road gate by
a vehicle in approaching, and leaving the same, being caused to operate suitable
mechanism such as that hereinbefore described.
2. In mechanism for automatically opening and closing road gates the combination
with a moveable bearing for the gate, which bearing is adapted to be operated by
suitable lever mechanism, of catch levers for temporarily retaining the said gate in its
open position, the whole being arranged to be operated by a vehicle approaching and
leaving the gate for the purposes set forth.
3. The mechanism for automatically opening and closing road gates substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.