Year: 1886

page_text: I, EDWIN HALLEY PENFIELD of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County State of
California, United States of America, Farm, and Dairymau, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improved means of opening and closing farm and other
gates. The gate in the case of a single gate is hinged upon an upright hinge rod
that passes through the upper and lower bars of the gate and is held in upper and
lower cross pieces secured to a pair of gate posts, which are set in the ground
diagonally to each other across the line of the fence. Upon the upper end of the
hinge rod is a head block and upon a post which is set in the ground at a sufficient
distance from the gate, along the track or road is pivoted a lever the opposite ends
of which are connected by cords or wires to the head block at diametrically
opposite points thereof so that the head block and lever, act as double levers for
opening and closing the gate. The cord or wire connections are continued from
the head block to another post at a sufficient distance from the other side of the
gate, and pass over pulleys thereon, so that by drawing on the cords or wires the
gate may be opened or closed from a distance. The head block is connected to
the upper bar of the gate by a pin that enters a slot made in the head block, and
the head block is connected by a cord guided by suitable pulleys to the latch
of the gate. The slot permits the head block to have a slight movement
independently of the gate, which movement is sufficient to cause it to lift the
latch out of the catch before the gate begins to move.
Shutting and holding posts are fixed in proper positions for the gate to close
against, whether in the closed or open positions, to allow the cords or wires to be
raised sufficiently high to pass over a side walk at the hinged end of the gate.
I extend the hinge rod upwards 3 or 4 feet above the height of the gate, and fix a
crosshead upon it, to which the cords or wires are attached in lieu of the head block
above mentioned. The cord for operating the latch is in this case attached to an
arm fixed rigidly to the hinge rod a short distance above the upper edge of the
gate frame, its outer end being forked to embrace the pulley block, or other rigid
part or connection of the gate and allow the latch to be operated before swinging
the gate. In the case of a double gate, the one leaf, or wing is hinged to its
swinging post by a hinge rod. Upon the upper end of the said rod in this double

page_text: form of gate is placed loosely a tube provided at its upper end with the two
opposite horizontal arms to which the gate opening, and gate closing cords or wires
ure to be attached as before described. The said tube is connected with the wing
of the gate by a third arm forked as before described to embrace the upper bar of
the wing or panel of the gate and allow of raising the latch before swinging the
gate. This arm (to which is attached the cord connecting with the latch for the
purpose of raising the same) makes with the other two arms an acute, and an
obtuse angle respectively. In this double form of gate the catch is connected by a
cord or wire to a lower latch attached to the bottom bar of the wing and adapted
to engage with the central stop block for holding the two wings of the gate closed,
the attachment of the two latches being such that both will be operated to lock or
release both wings of the gate. The other wing of the double gate is hinged to its
post by a hinge rod which reaches below the threshold of the gate, and has a crank
arm, which is connected by a rod with a similar but oppositely directed crank arm
on the hinge rod of the first described wing or panel of the gate, so that when the
one wing is swung open it will communicate a like, but opposite motion to the
other wing. In some cases I shall form the upper end of the hinge rod of the first
described leaf with a feather, and the cross armed tube with a wide groove, so that
the tube will communicate direct movement to the rod instead of communicating
it through the leaf of the gate. The operation of the double form of gate is upon the
same principle as that of the single gate, except that the opening and closing of the
one wing simultaneously opens and closes the other wing through the combined
action of the crank arms, and the connecting rod. In the single form of gate, and
in countries subject to heavy falls of snow, I shall construct the gate to elevate
itself when swung open, to clear the snow. This may be accomplished in various
ways, but I prefer to employ a circular cam upon which an arm from the hinge pin
rests, so that as the gate is swung open the gate will be lifted.

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Opening and Closing Farm and
other Gates.
I, EDWIN HALLEY PENFIELD of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, State of
California, United States of America, Farm and Dairyman, 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:-
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all
the Figures.
Figure 1 is a plan view of my new farm gate showing the gate open in full lines,
and closed in dotted lines; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same; Figure 3 is a
detailed view of a modified form of the hinged rod; Figure 4 is a front view of a
double gate with modified attachments and operative parts whereby both wings or
panels of the gate are operated simultaneously. Figure 5. is a plan view of the
same; Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view of a modification of the hinge-rod and
tube placed thereon for double gates; and Figure 7 is a detailed front elevation of
the single gate showing means for elevating it as the gate is opened.
The Invention will first be described in connection with the drawings, and then
pointed out in the claims.
A represents the panel, or body, of the single gate. This is hinged upon the
upright hinge-rod B that passes through the upper and lower bars a a of the gate
and is held in the upper and lower cross-pieces b b secured to the posts C C. The
posts CC are set in the ground diagonally to each other across the line of the
fence D D to permit the gate to swing open against the stop post E, as shown in
full lines in Figure 1. Upon the upper end of the hinge rod B is placed the board
or head block F, and upon the post G which is set in the ground back of the
posts CC is pivoted the lever H. This is connected on opposite sides of its pivot
to the board or head block F by cords c c attached to the eye-plates & secured to
bead F on opposite sides of the rod B so that the head F and lever H act as double
levers for opening and closing the gate. The head-block or plate F is connected to
the upper bar a of the gate by a pin e that enters a slot made in the head F, as
shown in Figure 1, and the head F is connected by cord g to the latch J of the
gate. The slot permits the head F to have a slight movement independent of
the gate A which movement is sufficient to cause it to draw cord g backward
enough to lift the latch J out of the catch K before the end of the slot f reaches
the pin e. The cord g from latch J passes up over pulley h, thence back through
the double pulley block &, and between the pulleys therein which serve as
guides to the cord and to prevent friction. Attached to the eye-plates d are the
two cords or wires; which pass over the post E thence along the track or road
any desired distance to post so that by drawing upon these ropes or wires the
gate may be opened or closed from a distance. The posts E and E₁ are jamb-posts
to limit respectively the opening and closing of the gate.

page_text: In operation, to close the gate, the gate being opened as shown in full lines in
Figure 1, the lever H must be moved in the direction of arrow 1 or cord j pulled in
the direction of arrow 2. This will turn head F in the direction of arrow 3. This
movement of head F will first draw cord g, and lift latch J, then one end of slot f
will strike pin e so that the further movement of the head F will swing closed the
gate A. To open the gate, lever É must be moved in the opposite direction or the
cord pulled. This will reverse the movement of the head F and in like manner
lift latch J, and then the opposite end of slot F will strike pin e so that the further
movement of the head F will swing the gate open.
For convenience in holding the cords or wires jj' and operating them, I provide
the post...L with a horizontal arm L provided with pulleys m m over which
the cords or wires j j¹ pass and I provide the ends of the cords or wires with
rings n n which may be conveniently grasped for pulling upon the cords or wires
as will be clearly understood from Figure 2.
In Figure 3. I have shown means the object of which is to allow, under certain
circumstances, the cords c c to be raised sufficiently high to pass over a side walk
at the hinged end of the gate. It will be seen in Figures 1 and 2 the board or
head F represents a combination of two pulley arms and a latch lever, the latter
parallel with the gate frame. Under certain circumstances, I wish to separate
these and raise the lateral arms to a desired height leaving the latch lever near the
upper edge of the gate frame. To do this I make use of a longer upright hinge
rod B. This rod is to reach up above the gate three or four feet as circumstances
require, and I prefer with this long rod to form at its upper end the rigidly
attached arms p at the extremities of which are attached the cords c c¹ and j j'.
In this form of hinge rod the latch lever pl is also attached rigidly to the hinge
rod a short distance above the upper edge of the gate frame, and to its outer end is
attached the latch cord or wire g, and at this end are also attached two short
aims p² p² one right and the other left, extending slightly downward to embrace
the pulley block or other rigid part or connection of the gate, and so shaped as to
allow vibrating room for the arm p' for drawing cord or wire g sufficiently for
operating the latch J before swinging the gate. The arm p¹ if made separate from
the hinge rod B may be made adjustable up and down upon its rod B to operate
any ordinary gate and the arms p p if made separate from the rod B may be raised
any desired height above the arm pt to adapt the gate to city use, along side
walks etc, so the cords or wires will not interfere in any manner with traffic.
Referring to the double gate shown in Figures 4 and 5. M M¹ represent the
two panels or wings of the gate. The wing M³ is hinged to the gate post M2 by
the hinge rod P which is attached to the wing M' by the plates q q and held in
the eye bolts q¹ q' driven into the post. Upon the upper end of the rod P in this
double form of gate is placed loosely the tube N held at the proper elevation by
the collar q² formed or secured upon the rod P. The tube N is formed or provided
at its upper end with the two opposite horizontal arms to which the gate
opening and gate closing cords or wires c c¹ and jλ are to be attached the same as
in Figures 1 and 2. The tube N is connected with the wing M¹ of the gate by the
horizontal arm which is rigidly connected to the tube and formed at its outer
end with the two downwardly projecting fingers p³ ³ the same as in Figure 3,
which fingers span and embrace the upper bar of the wing or panel M'. The arm r
stands at an acute angle with the arm and the arm at an obtuse angle with
the arm and to the outer end of the arm 2 is attached the cord or wire g. This
passes between the vertical pulleys thence over the pulley / down to the
spring catch J to which it is attached. In this double form of gate the catch J is
connected by the cord or wire a to a lower latch J¹ attached to the bottom bar of
the wing and adapted to engage with the central stop block W for holding the two
wings of the gate closed. The attachment of the catch J to the lower latch is so
that when the upper latch is operated the lower latch will also be operated to lock
or release both wings of the gate. The wing M of the double gate is hinged to
the post M³ by the hinge rod M which is attached to the wing by the horizontal

page_text: plates ss and held in the eye bolts s² ² driven into the post M². The plates & st
are rigidly secured to the hinge rod M4 and the rod and wing M are held at the
proper elevation by a collar s³ formed upon or secured to the rod M' resting upon
the upper eye bolt s' as shown clearly in Figure 4. The lower end of the hinge
rod M reaches below the bridge or platform O below the gate and is bent to form
an arm or crank t. The hinge rod P in this double form of gate also reaches
below the bridge O and is bent to form the arm t¹, the arm t stands at an acute
angle with the wing M while the arm t¹ projects in the opposite direction and
stands at an obtuse angle with the wing M₁ and the extremities of the arms t t¹
are connected together by the long rod O¹ so that when the one wing M¹ is swung
open and the hinge rod P thereby turned in its eye bolts the rod P will com-
niunicate a like, but opposite, motion to the hinge rod M and swing open the
wing M. The closing of the wing M¹ will cause the rod P to communicate an
opposite motion to the rod M and simultaneously close the wing M.
The
fingers p p are made a greater distance apart than the thickness of the upper bar
of the wing M¹ the same as in Figure 3 to permit the arm to move sidewise a
sufficient distance independently of the wing M¹ to draw the cord for raising the
latches J J¹ before moving or coming in contact with the wing M
In some cases I shall form the upper end of the hinge rod P with a feather u
and the tube N with a wide groove v as shown in Figure 6 so that the tube will
communicate direct movement to the rod instead of communicating it through the
plates. The feather and groove will be used in case the rod P is not formed or
provided with the rigid plates q q.
The operation of the double form of gate is upon the same principle as that of
the single gate of Figures 1 and 2, except that the opening and closing of the
wing M' simultaneously opens and closes the wing M through the combined action
of the arms t t¹ and the connecting rod O¹.
In the single form of gate, and in countries subject to heavy falls of snow,
I shall construct the gate to elevate itself, when swung open, to clear the snow.
This may be accomplished in various ways but I prefer to employ a circular cam T
shown in Figure 7, attached to the lower block b upon the upper surface. In con-
nection with this cam, I form or provide the vertical hinge rod B with a lateral
pin or stud w that rests upon the upper edge of the cam T so that as the gate is
swung open the said stud will traverse the cam T and lift the gate, so that snow
will not interfere with its being easily opened and closed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention; and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is;-
1. The combination with the gate A provided with the pin e the latch J and the
upright B to which the gate is hinged of the head F secured upon the end of the
said upright and having the slot to receive the pin e the lever H and the cords c
attached to the lever on the opposite sides of the pivot and to the head F on
opposite sides of the upright rod B and the cord g having its ends attached to the
said head and latch substantially as herein shown and described.
2. The combination with the gate A provided with the pin e, the latch J, the
upright B and the posts G L, of the head F having the slot and provided with
the eye plates & on opposite sides, the lever H, the cords c attached to the lever
and eye plates, the cord g attached to the head F and to the latch J, and cords jj
attached to the eye plates of the head and extending to the post L substantially as
herein shown and described.
3. The posts CC set diagonally to each other, and having the cross pieces bb
attached to them in combination with the hinge rod or upright B placed in the
cross pieces bb, the head F, gate A, and lever H, the latter being connected to the
head by cords c c and the head connected to the latch J by cord g substantially as
and for the purposes set forth.

page_text: 4. The hinge rod B constructed with arms substantially as shown in Figure 3,
as and for the purpose set forth.
5. The double gate constructed to operate substantially as described.
6. The combination with the hinge rod P of tube N having arms to operate the
gate and to receive the operating cords or wires.
7. The hinge rod P formed with the plates qq for attachment to the gate as
set forth.
8. The vertical hinge rod B formed or provided with the means for operating
the gate and formed or provided with the stud w in combination with the cam T
upon which the stud acts for lifting the gate as it is opened substantially as
described.