Improvements in Covers, Caps, and Lids of Gas, Sewer, Telephone and Electrical Supply Shafts and Holes, Gullies, and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in Covers, Caps, and Lids of Gas, Sewer, Telephone and
Electrical Supply Shafts and Holes, Gullies, and the like.
We, JOHN PRICE, Civil Engineer and Surveyor, residing at Court Hey, Chantry
Road, Moseley, in the City of Birmingham, and JOSEPH JOHNSON, Brassfounder,
residing at 32, Wellington Road, Bilston, in the County of Stafford, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the covers, caps, lids, and gratings, of general ground
holes, sewer shafts, or man-holes, ventilators, ground holes of gas, telephone and
electric supply gullies, gulley traps, and such like, and has distinct reference to
that class of cover cap or lid which works upon a hinge or a pair of trunnions
within the framing or brick setting surrounding it.
The invention is designed to prevent such covers, caps, or lids, being lifted, and
the hole underneath it opened and left open by mischievous boys or ill disposed
persons to the detriment and injury of foot passengers and general vehicular
traffic, but also to facilitate the lifting of the said covers, caps, and lids, by the
proper worker attending his duty should the said cover caps and lids become, as is
generally the case, immovable without considerable force being exerted, and also
to affix or lock the said covers, caps, or lids, in their fully open positions while any
work is being performed.
The invention consists in providing the said lids, covers, or gratings, with a
device for automatically locking them, when closed, to the frame parts or boundary
edges of the holes or shafts carrying them, and to give them an initial lift from
the said framings when the device is operated by an attendant to open the hole
to which the lid or grating forms a cover. Also to provide a means, either in
conjunction with the said device, or not, for locking the said covers, caps, or lids,
in their open positions, so that they shall not accidentally fall and cause injury to
any person or thing.
The said device consists of a loose latch or arm jointedly connected to a bracket
lug on the hinged lid or cover to depend from the opening edge thereof, having
upon its one end, near its joint, a projection or right angled extension, and upon
its other end a hook-shaped part and a projecting stop or shoulder and an abutment
or lug upon the framing carrying the cover or cap; the said stop to form a part
with which the hook part on the arm is adapted to engage, and the lug or abutment
a part against which the projection or extension upon the arm adjacent to its joint
works as a fulcrum when the lid or cover is being primarily prised or cleared from
Its seating in the frame prior to its being lifted. Upon the extreme lower end of
the depending loose latch or arm is formed a slot or a curved part for the purpose
of connecting thereto a hooked rod, or its equivalent, which is passed between
he bars of the cover or lid, when of a grid like construction, or through a hole
herein when of a closed construction, for disengaging the hooked part of the
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page_text: depending latch from the stop or shoulder upon the framing, and for using the said
latch for prising the opening of the lid or grating.
The depending latch always hangs vertical by its own gravitation when the lid,
cover, or grating, is closed, and its one edge adjacent to the throat of the hook is
inclined or curved to, form the means for slinging aside the said latch when it meets
the stop on the framing, on the lid.being closed, until the said lid is fully closed,
when the hook part of the latch will automatically engage at the back of the stop.
The projection or extension upon the depending arm forms the means, by bearing
against the underside of the grid or lid, for preventing the said arm from swinging
too far outwardly so as to be out of position for its hook part to engage with the
stop on the framing.
In grid-like covers, caps, or gratings, the rod for disengaging the latch from the
stop is pushed between the bars, but in' caps or covers of a closed construction a
hole will be provided about an inch in diameter.
The prising of the hinged lid or grating does not commence until the hook part
of the said latch is swung clear of the stop or shoulder with which it engages.
The means for locking the said cover or cap in its open position consists of a
hinged piece or a movable projecting part adapted to be hinged down or slid
between the hinged end of the lid, (when the said lid is open) and the face or part
of the framing carrying the said lid adjacent to it at that time, so that it forms a
stop against the hinging down of the lid until that stop part has been removed.
In carrying out this part of the invention in conjunction with the device for
locking and prising herein before described the loosely jointed latch or arm would be
made of the same breadth as the cap or cover, and its lower end would be formed into
a tooth or wedge piece, or the like, for the purpose of taking between the adjacent
faces of the hinged edge of the cover or cap, and the framing carrying it, when
the latch or arm is hinged down, so that, not until this tooth or wedge piece is
withdrawn can the lid or cover fall.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Agents for Applicants.
Improvements in Covers, Caps, and Lids of Gas, Sewer, Telephone and
Electrical Supply Shafts and Holes, Gullies, and the like.
We, JOHN PRICE, Civil Engineer and Surveyor, residing at Court Hey, Chantry
Road, Moseley, in the City of Birmingham, and JOSEPH JOHNSON, Brassfounder,
residing at 32, Wellington Road, Bilston, in the County of Stafford, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to the covers, caps, lids, and gratings. of general ground
holes, sewer shafts, or man-holes, ventilators, ground holes of gas, sewer, telephone
and electric supply gullies, gulley traps, and such like, and has distinct reference to
that class of cover cap or lid which works upon a hinge or a pair of trunnions
within the framing or brick setting surrounding it.
The invention is designed to prevent such covers, caps, or lids, being lifted and
the hole underneath it opened and left open by mischievous boys or ill disposed
persons to the detriment and injury of foot passengers and general, vehicular

page_text: traffic, but also to facilitate the lifting of the said covers, caps, and lids, by the
proper worker attending his duty should the said covers, caps, and lids, become, as
is generally the case, immovable, without considerable force being exerted, and
also to affix or lock the said covers, caps, and lids in their fully open positions
while any work is being performed.
The invention consists in providing the said lids, covers, or gratings, with a
device for automatically locking them when closed. to the frame parts or boundary
edges of the holes or shafts carrying them, and to give them an initial lift from
the said framings when the device is operated by an attendant, to open the hole
to which the lid or grating forms a cover. Also to provide a means either in
conjunction with the said device or not for locking the said covers, caps, or lids,
in their open positions so that they shall not accidentally fall and cause injury to
any person or thing.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings the invention is shown applied to the
cover of an ordinary street gulley, Fig. 1 being a top side plan of the said cover
with its hinged grating closed, Fig. 2 a transverse vertical section on the dotted
line F, Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 a similar section as Fig. 2 but showing the hinged
grating in its open or thrown back and locked position.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figs. of the
sheet of drawings.
In the said figs. c is the loosely jointed arm or latch, which is carried upon a
bracket lug on the hinged grating d so as to depend from the underside of its
opening edge d³, a joint pin d being the connection means between the arm cand the
lug. The said arm or latch has upon its one end, near its joint, a lifting piece or
projection 2, and a hook-shaped part or catch c³, the latter having a curved face ct.
These parts are respectively adapted to work upon and engage an abutment or
lug a², and a stop or shoulder a³ formed upon the frame a of the gulley cover, the
said stop or shoulder to form a part with which the hook part 3 on the arm or
latch is adapted to engage, and the lug or abutment a part against which the
lifting piece or projection works as a fulcrum, when the grating d is being
primarily prised or cleared from its seating a30 in the frame a prior to its being
hinged back by hand. The frame a is built up of sides a, a, and ends a, a,
the hinged grating d being jointed to the side a5 by lugs and joint pins a³, a³, and
the side a is formed with a vertical clearance a¹0, which leads to the abutment a³
for the purpose of allowing the lifting piece or projection c² to pass into the interior
of the said side so as to be near the abutment on which it works.
The jointed arm or catch c is practically a prising lever and latch combined,
the parts, constituting its short arm, and the part its long arm; this last-
named, which is adapted to be caught hold of by a rod for the operation of the
said lever and latch, is preferably formed with a curved end c or other contrivance
which will prevent the rod as aforesaid slipping off its end. The grating dis
formed with bars and spaces in the ordinary manner and the rod for operating the
part c is inserted through one of the spaces between the said bars.
The depending lever and latch is so jointed to the grating and weighted that, on
the grating d being closed, its hooked part 3 first comes against the curved edge e
of the abutment a², but afterwards clears it by its curved face c wiping over the
said edge, and tipping the latch, thus swinging the latter aside until the grating
is fully home on its seating when, by the gravitating effect of the said latch, the
hooked part will engage the stop or shoulder a³ and automatically lock the said
grating in a closed position. To unlock the grating the latch must be so rocked
as to clear its hooked part from the stop or shoulder: after this the hinged grating
can be prised from its seating a by further rocking the part c, so that the lifting
piece or projection 2 wipes or moves over the abutment or lug a².
To lock the grating in its open position, as shown in Fig. 3, a wedge-shaped
5 piece s is jointed to the lower part of the latch or arm c by means of a joint pin s¹
taking through its vertical arm s2, its horizontal or lower arm or part 3 entering
between the adjacent faces d³, d³ of the hinged edge of the cover or cap and its

page_text: adjoining framework (a sufficient clearance being left between them for that
purpose) and forming a stop piece against the falling down of the said cover or
cap when the gulley or the like is being inspected or cleaned out and preventing
any injury to the workmen employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
First. In covers, caps, and lids of man-holes, ground holes, gullies, gulley traps,
and such like, the use of a lever, latch, or jointed arm, for locking the closing of
the hinged parts or gratings to the frame parts carrying them, and a stop piece
jointedly attached to the said latch's lower end for locking the covers, caps, and lids,
when in a "thrown back" or open position, substantially as described and set
forth.
Second. In covers, caps, and lids, of man-holes, ground holes, gullies, gulley
traps, and such like, the combination of a combined lever and latch c, hingedly
connected to a lug or bracket 2 carried by the hinged grating d, with a stop piece s,
having its vertical arm sa jointedly connected to the lower end 5 of the said com-
bined lever and latch c, and its lower and horizontal arm taking into a clearance
between the cover's grating and framework, substantially as and for the purpose
described and set forth.
Third. In covers, caps, and lids, of man-holes, ground holes, gullies, gulley
traps, and such like, the combination of a frame a carrying a hinged closure or
grating d, and having formed upon it a stop or shoulder ³, and a lug or abut-
ment a², with a combined lever and latch c carried by the said hinged part or
grating d, and which said lever or latch has upon it a lifting piece c³ and a hooked
part for respectively working upon and engaging the lug or abutment a³ and
the stop or shoulder a² in the frame as aforesaid, and a stop piece s hingedly con-
nected to the said lever or latch at its lower end 5 and taking with its horizontal
arm 3 into the clearance between the hinged closure or grating and its supporting
framework, substantially as and for the purpose described and set forth.
Fourth. The general arrangement, combination, and fitting of the parts, sub-
stantially as described and set forth.
Dated this 5th day of Sentember 1908
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Also of Liverpool, London and Manchester,
Patent Agents for the Applicants.