IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING GATES
Year: 1885

page_text: I ARTHUR WILLIAM LOVELL REDDIE of the Office for Patents 6 Bream's
Buildings, Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent do hereby
declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING GATES," 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 gates which are composed of upright pickets and
diagonal connecting bars pivotted to each other and to the said pickets in such
manner as to allow the said pickets to be drawn out horizontally from each other
and from the gate-post, jamb or other fixed support, to close the gate way, door-
way or other way or passage within which the gate is applied, and to be drawn
aside close together against or towards the said support to open said way or
passage; and the said improvements consist in a novel mode of combining the said
pickets and diagonal braces, in a novel construction of the said pickets, and in a
novel means of securing and locking such gates when closed, all as hereinafter
particularly described.
Fig: 1 is a front elevation of a pair of gates, or in other words a double gate
opening in the middle, constructed according to this invention; the gate being
represented closed.
.
Fig: 1 is a front elevation of one of the said gates and its post or jamb showing
the gate open.
Fig: 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the outer and adjacent pickets of
the two gates, and portions of the locking-bars by which they are secured when
closed.
Fig 3 is a transverse section on the plane indicated by the dotted line x x
in Fig: 2.
Fig: 4 is a perspective view of one of the filling pieces of iron used in the
construction of the locking bars.
Fig: 5 is a side view of another piece used in the construction of said bars.
Figs: 6 and 7 are respectively side views at right angles to each other of a
portion of one of the pickets.
Fig: 8 is a perspective view of the same.
Fig: 9 is a horizontal section in the line y y of Fig: 6.

page_text: Fig: 10 is a transverse or horizontal section of one of the two channel-irons of
which the pickets are each principally composed.
Figs: 11 and 12 are respectively a plan and a side view of one of the filling pieces
of iron used between the channel irons in the pickets.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several Figures.
A A designate the two gate-posts or jambs, the opening between which is closed
by two gates which collapse by movements in opposite directions and constitute a
double gate.
The picket a of each gate nearest the corresponding post is secured at the lower
end to a base plate 6 and at the upper end by a bracket b¹ to the post.
The pickets a* of the two gates are brought together as shown in Fig: 1 when
the gates are extended or closed, and between the extreme outer and inner
pickets a a* of each gate are intermediate pickets a¹.
The pickets a a* a¹ of each gate are connected by means of diagonal connecting
bars c pivotted together in the form of what are known as lazy tongs and pivotted
to each picket as indicated at e¹ el in Fig: 1.
These diagonal connecting bars or lazy tongs connections c, allow the pickets to
move towards and from each other as the gates are collapsed or expanded, serving
to maintain the pickets in parallelism; and in order to better effect this result I
prefer to employ two systems or series of such connections one series near the lower
ends of the pickets and the others near their upper ends.
Below the gates are tracks or ways d d, and to one or more of the pickets a' of
cach gate is fitted a roller e, at the lower end bearing on said track or way.
The tracks or ways, d are hinged at d so that after the gates are collapsed the
tracks or ways are to be swung up against them, as shown in Fig: 1* and to be
there secured by a catch of any suitable kind as t.
The construction of the pickets is shown best in Figs: 2 and 3, and in Figs 6
to 12 inclusive. It consists of two channel irons or clanuel bars 1, 1, having their
flanges projecting towards each other and blocks or filling pieces f of metal
interposed between them and serving to hold them securely fixed relatively to each
other. Each piece or block f has, at its ends, tongues f1 which completely fill the
channel bars 1, and form shoulders, *, which have a bearing on the flanges thereof.
Beyond the tongues f¹ project teats or studs f2 which enter holes in the bars 1, and
are rivetted over to secure the component parts of the picket together.
The finial or tip 1* of the picket is held between and rivetted to the channel bars
at their upper ends as shown at u, in Figs: 2 and 3.
I employ a locking bar B for the left hand gate and a very similar bar B¹ for the
right hand gate.
Each of these locking bars is composed of two channel bars g g and interposed
blocks or pieces g¹ g², whereby the said channel bars are held at such a distance
apart as to slip over or to receive between them the pickets a¹ a* of each gate.
At their outer ends the bars B B¹ are hinged at h so that they may be swung.
upwards as shown in Fig: 1*, to entirely remove them from the pickets, and the
two channel bars g g are at such a distance apart as to receive the brackets b¹
between them, and thus allow the locking, bars to be swung up into a vertical
position..
The lower bar B has at its end an opening or socket i which is formed, by a
filling piece g¹ such as is shown in Fig: 5, and a filling piece g² substantially such
as is shewn in Fig: 4, the said opening receiving the two extreme pickets a* of the
two gates.. At a slight distance from its end it has a socket or opening which is
formed by the piece g² and another piece g', and which receives a picket a', of the
gate corresponding to that bar.
The locking bar B¹ has at the end a socket or opening, which is formed. by
pieces g¹² and which receives the aforesaid picket a¹, and at a slight distance from
the end is a socket i formed by the pieces g² g' and which. receives the two extreme
pickets a*.
;

page_text: The piece is provided with tongues or ribs 2 which are received in the
channel irons g g and the two channel irons and interposed block or piece are then
secured together by rivets j inserted through them all.
The pieces g¹ are provided with tongues g* which enter the channel irons, and
with projections 3 which are received in the holes in the channel irons and are
rivetted over to secure them thereto.
The bars B B¹, as here shown, are locked by a staple fixed in the block g³ of
the bar B', and projecting downwards through an aperture ¹ (see Fig: 2) in the
block g of the bar B, a padlock 7 being inserted, as shown in Fig: 1, through the
portion of said staple which protrudes through the opening as shown in Figs : 2
and 3.
When it is desired to open the gate it is only necessary to remove the lock / and
turn or swing the bars B B¹ upwards against the posts A and then the gate can be
pushed aside and collapsed as shown in Fig 1*.
When the locking bars are turned or swung downwards towards and to a
horizontal position, they receive through them the upwardly presented ends of the
pickets and are arrested by pins s in the pickets formning stops below which the bars
cannot move.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as cominunicated to me
by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
1st A folding gate composed of pickets and diagonal connecting bars pivotted to
each other and to each picket, substantially as herein described.
2nd A gate picket consisting of two oppositely arranged channel bars
with their tanges presented towards each other and a spacing piece or block f
having tongues' which fit the interior of the channel bars and shoulders, *, which
support the flanges thereof, substantially as herein described.
3rd A gate picket consisting of two oppositely arranged channel bars with their
flanges presented towards each other, and a spacing block or piece, f, having
tongues f', which fit the interior of the channel bars, shoulders, %, which support
the flanges thereof, and projections, f, which extend through the channel bars and
are rivetted on the exterior thereof, substantially as herein described.
4th The combination with the collapsible gate constructed as herein described, of
a hinged locking bar B composed of oppositely arranged channel bars, g g, and
interposed blocks or pieces g', 92, the said channel bars being spaced to receive
between them the pickets of the gate, substantially as herein described.
5th The combination with two gates forming a double gate, and capable of.
collapsing by movement in opposite directions, of the locking bars B B' hinged at h,
and each consisting of channel bars g g and interposed blocks y¹ g, the said channel
bars being spaced to receive between them the pickets of the gates, and the
locking hasp k, substantially as berein described.