Improvements in Means for Locking the Doors of Railway Carriages and the like,
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Jan., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Oct., 1899-Accepted, 4th Nov., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Locking the Doors of Railway Carriages
and the like,
I, HARRY THOMAS Strange, of 14, Spring Gardens, Charing Cross, in the
County of London, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
According to this invention the doors of railway carriages and the like are
automatically locked when the carriages have been started and automatically
unlocked as the carriages stop by means of suitable devices or motors attached
to the carriages and adapted to cause the holding or the release of door catches
or the like according to the pressure of the air upon the said device or motors,
which pressure will vary according to whether the carriages are in motion or
at rest.
According to one arrangement, each carriage door is provided with a pro-
jection or catch, which is adapted, when the door is closed, to occupy a recess,
which may be semi-circular, in the underside of a stop or abutment pivoted to
the door frame. This stop or abutment may be of approximately semi-circular
form with an upwardly extending projection and is pivoted eccentrically so that
it will normally hang in such an attitude that the projection or catch on the
door can readily enter the mouth of the recess in its semi-circular underside of
the stop or abutment and cause it to rock about its pivot. When this has
occurred the projection will then be well within the recess, the mouth of which
will be downward and, in opening the door, the stop or abutment must be
swung back again before the projection can leave the recess. In proximity to
this stop or abutment is mounted a locking arm or the like which is connected,
for instance, by a flexible connector, to a spindle or axle that extends to the
exterior of the door frame, where it is fitted with vanes or blades so arranged
that, on the carriages moving in either direction at any considerable rate, the
pressure of the air on the vanes or blades will cause rotation of the axle and
consequent movement of the locking arm in such a manner as to prevent the
stop or abutment being displaced or swung back by the projection or catch on
the door, should an attempt be made to open it; the door will thus be locked
until; on the carriages stopping, the air pressure on the vanes or blades be
reduced, when the looking arm will resume its normal position and release the
pivoted stop or abutment. The door can then be opened as its projection or
catch will not be prevented from swinging back the stop or abutment and
moving out of the recess in its underside of the stop or abutment. The vanes
or blades may be protected by a casing through only the lower part of which
air can pass, the said lower part being formed of a series of bars, slats or the
like. The locking arm may conveniently be a counterbalanced lever formed
with a hooked end adapted to take over the upwardly extending projection of
the stop or abutment; the parts that come in contact may be so formed as to

page_text: Improvements in Means for Locking the Doors of Railway Carriages
and the like.
I, HARRY THOMAS STRANGE, of 14, Spring Gardens, Charing Cross, in the
County of London, Clerk, 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:
According to this invention the doors of railway carriages and the like are
automatically locked when the carriages have been started and automatically
unlocked as the carriages stop by means of suitable devices or motors attached
to the carriages and adapted to cause the holding or the release of door catches
or the like according to the pressure of the air upon the said devices or motors,
which pressure will vary according to whether the carriages. are in motion or
at rest.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying. illustrative drawings shows in side elevation,
part of a railway carriage provided with apparatus according to this invention
for locking a door thereof in the closed position.
+
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, corresponding to the line A A of Fig. 1,
showing the locking apparatus to a larger scale, the movable portions of the
said apparatus being shown in the positions they occupy when the carriage is
at rest and the door unlocked..
Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2. but with the movable portions of the locking
apparatus in the positions they occupy when the carriage is in motion and the
door locked. Eig. 3 is a part side elevation of the door and door frame with
locking apparatus drawn to the same scale as Figs. 2 and 3.
Fig. 4 is a section on the line B B of Fig. 5, and Fig. 5 is a section on the

page_text: line C C of Fig. 4, showing, to a larger scale than Fig. 1, the air motor illus-
trated therein.
In the arrangement shown each carriage door 1 is provided with a projection
or catch 2 that is adapted, when the door is closed, to enter a semi-circular
recess 3 formed in the underside of a stop or abutment 4 pivoted in the door
frame 5. The projection or catch 2 consists of a pin of circular section fixed
to the free vertical edge of the door and adapted to enter a recess 5ª in the door
frame 5 below the stop or abutment 4. This stop or abutment, which may be
of approximately semi-circular form and is provided with an upwardly extending
projection 6, is pivoted eccentrically at 4 so that it will normally hang in such a
position that the recess 3 therein will face outward as shown in Fig. 2 and admit of
the projection or catch 2 on the door 1 readily entering the said recess 3, and turn-
ing the said stop or abutment 4 about its pivot 4 when the door is being
closed. When this has taken place, the projection 2 will be located within
the recess 3 the mouth of which will be downwards as shown in Figs. 3 and 3".
In opening the door, the stop or abutment 4 will be turned back again. to admit
of the projection 2 leaving the recess 3. In proximity to the said stop or
abutment 4 is mounted a looking arm or the like, shown in the form of a lever 7
pivoted at 7 and provided with a hooked ond 7b adapted to take over the up-
wardly extending projection 6 of the stop or abutment 4, the parts that come in
contact being so formed as to prevent sticking. The lever 7, stop or abut-
ment 4, and adjacent parts carried by the door frame 5, are preferably enclosed
in a casing 8 that is fixed in a recess in the said frame. The lever 7 is con-
nected, as for instance through a flexible connector 9 to a spindle or axle 10
fitted with vanes or blades 11. The axle with vanes or blades constitute an air
motor that is fixed to the exterior of the carriage so that when the carriage is
in motion, the spindle will be caused to rotate by the pressure of the air upon
the vanes or blades. In the example shown the vanes or blades 11 are mounted
to rotate within a casing 12 that is carried by a hollow pillar or support 13 and
through the lower part only of which air can pass, the said lower part being
formed of a series of parallel bars or slats 14 that serve to direct the air upon
the lower vanes or blades when the motor, which is shown applied to the roof
of the carriage, moves through the air.
The flexible connector 9 passes through an eye 7° on one end of the lever 7
and up through the door frame 5 and the hollow pillar or support 13 to a
pulley 15 to which it is fixed and which is fixed on the spindle or axle 10, the said eye
end of the lever 7 being arranged between a stop 9ª and a weight 9b on the con-
nector 9. The stop 9ª serves to limit the extent to which the connector 9 can
be wound up by the rotation of the axle 10 in one direction, and the weight 9"
serves to move the axle in the reverse direction and, by means of the stop 9ª,
to move the lever 7 into the inoperative position shewn in Fig. 2-when the air
pressure on the vanes or blades is sufficiently reduced.
The lever 7 is so pivoted that its hooked end 7b just overbalances the eye
end 7° and the stop 9ª and weight 9b are spaced apart as shown so that the
lever will be prevented from being moved from its locking position (Fig. 3),
by the stop 9, until the weight 9b nearly resumes its original and lower
position shown in Fig. 2. In this way partial reduction of the air pressure on
the vanes or blades from any cause will not effect the unlocking of the door.
The weight 9 can be adjusted in amount to suit requirement.
As will be seen the arrangement is such that on the carriage to which the
apparatus is fitted moving in either direction at any considerable rate, the
pressure of the air on the vanes or blades 11 will cause rotation of the axle 10
against the action of the weight 9b and will consequently allow the locking
arm 7 to move into such a position (see Fig. 3) as to cause its hooked end 76
to engage the projection 6 and prevent the stop or abutment 4 being dis-
placed or awung back by the projection or catch 2 on the door 1, should an
attempt be made to open the latter, and will thus lock the door until, on the

page_text: carriage stopping, the air pressure on the vanes or blades 11 will have been
reduced to such an extent as to permit the weight 9b to fall and cause the
locking arm 7 to resume its normal position (Fig. 2) thereby releasing the
pivoted stop or abutment 4 and permitting the door to be opened, its projec-
tion or catch 2 not then being prevented from swinging back the stop or abut-
ment 4 and moving out of the recess in the underside thereof.
Means for locking doors according to this invention can be constructed in
various forms.
The fan wheel or equivalent air motor may be arranged on any suitable part
of the carriage, though it is desirable to so arrange it that it cannot be reached
from the carriage window. Other devices than a fan wheel may be employed.
as for instance a diaphragm, the pressure of air on one side of which is reduced
or increased by suitable means when the train is in motion.
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. Apparatus for locking the door of a railway carriage or the like wherein
a stop or abutment adapted to engage with a projection or catch on the door
is controlled by an air operated device or motor attached to the carriage, the
arrangement being such that when the carriage is started and attains a pre-
determined speed the said air operated device or motor will act automatically
to hold the stop or abutment in a position to lock the door in the closed attitude
and when the speed of the carriage is sufficiently reduced in order to bring it
to rest, the said air operated device or motor will release the stop or abutment
so as to permit of the door being opened, substantially as described.
2. Apparatus for locking the door of a railway carriage or the like, compris
ing a stop or abutment adapted to be mounted on the body of the carriage and
to engage with and hold a projection or catch on the carriage door when the
same is closed, a locking arm adapted to hold or release the said stop or abut-
ment according to the position it occupies, and an air operated device adapted
to be mounted on the body of the carriage and to be brought into action, so as
to move the locking arm into the locking or operative position, by movement
through the air, substantially as described.
3. Apparatus for automatically locking the doors of railway carriages and
the like when the carriages are in motion, constructed, arranged and operating,
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and shown in the
drawings annexed.