IMPROVEMENTS IN GATES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Webb, of. Smallwood Manor, Uttoxeter, ifr
the County of Stafford, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN GATES."
Sealed the 25th January 1861, and dated the 4th August 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Webb at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th August 1860.
I, THOMAS WEBB, of Smallwood Manor,. Uttoxeter, in the County of
Stafford, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN GATES," to be as follows:-
In my improved gate the top rail is connected to the post, so as to be
capable of turning upon a centre; the rails beneath it are supported by
vertical bars, to which they are jointed upon the top rail, therefore, being turned
upward the gate is opened, and the parts composing, it collapse. The latch'
post I form with a groove, so that when the rails are lowered for closing, they
pass therein. The opening and closing may be effected by a handle similar to
a ship's rudder wheel, with suitable connections, or by means of treadles, or
other such apparatus brought into action by a carriage wheel, or other
5 weight.
1

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Webb, Her special license that I, the said Thomas Webb, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Thomas Webb, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United. Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Isles, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN GATES," upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the
suid Thomas Webb, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office-within-six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
t
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Webb, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :—
"One form of my improved gate, applicable to farm or other such purposes,
and intended to be opened direct by hand, is shewn at Sheet 1, Fig. 1. The
top rail is at a, to which are connected, by means of joints, the vertical rails b,
carrying also, by joints, the other horizontal rails c. The rail a'is mounted so
as to turn upori centre pin & at one end, and its other "end" is situate
(when the gate is closed) within a 'groove formed in the post e. The bottom
rail also projects into a groove formed in a block f, and the opposite ends
of the rails c into a groove in the post g. "When it is desired to open the gate
the hook his turned inward, and the gate is lifted so as to cause it to turn
L upon its centre into the position shewn by dotted lines, and there it will
remain so long as may be desired. To close it the whole is turned downward
into the position already described. I adapt a balance weight to the top rail a,
but this is not shewn. by. the. full lines of the Drawing, the said rail being
represented as broken off, the continuation thereof, together with, the balance
weight, is shewn in the dotted position at i.
A The several Figures in Sheet 2 shew a method of opening the gate without
raising it direct by hand, and suitable for those on horseback. Fig. 2 is a
partial face view of the gate; Fig. 3, an end view; and Fig. 4, a plan of the
་-

page_text: opening mechanism; Figs. 5 and 6 are two views of the apparatus;: which is
handled; and 7, a diagram, shewing the positions of the last-mentioned parts:
In Fig. 7, a, a, represent the boundaries of, the road, and 1, 2, 3, 4, the
positions of the handles which are to be used in opening and shutting the, gate,
and I will, firstly, shew how these are used: -Suppose a horseman to be
approaching the gate 6 in the direction of the black arrow, he will stop at the
point 1 and pull the apparatus, by which the gate will be opened; having
passed through; he will again stop at 2, and pull the apparatus there situate,
by which the gate will be closed. Suppose now, a passenger to be advancing
in the direction of the dotted arrow, he will first open the gate at 3, and after:
wards close it at 4. Assuming now that the horseman has arrived at 1, he
will pull the chain c (Figs. 5, 6) downward, so as to cause the lever d to
turn upon its centre and carry with it a pulley e. To this pulley is attached a
chain f(shewn by a red line), which chain passes below under a guide pulley g:
The continuation of this chain is shewn at f in Fig. 4, where it passes under a
guide pulley h, and from thence upward, and is fastened to a larger pulley.i
fixed upon the axis of the top rail j of the gate. By this operation and.
arrangement the chain ƒ will be pulled in the direction of the arrow, so as to
cause the pulley i and gate mounted on the axis thereof to turn upward, ás
described in reference to Fig. 1. Having passed through the gate, the horse..
man will pull a handle at 2 similar to that shewn at Figs. 5 and 6, by which
means a chain k will be drawn according to the arrow. This chain passes
under a guide pulley 1, and from thence to a pulley * fixed on the axis of the
gate, and acting thereon in the opposite direction to the chain f, the said
pulley will, therefore, be caused to turn backward, and the gate will be closed.
If the horseman be travelling in the direction of the dotted arrow, by pulling
an apparatus similar to Figs. 5, 6, and situate at 3, Fig. 7, the chain f¹ will
be drawn; this chain (which may be in the same piece as the chain f) passes
under á guide pulley m, and from thence to the pulley i, and will cause the
gate to be opened, as above described, after which, the chain (which may
also be in the same piece as k) being in a similar manner drawn, the gate will
be closed; the said chain passing over a guide pulley n, and from thence to the
pulley *.
The several Figures on Sheet 3 shew a method by which a wheel of a
carriage may be caused to open the gate. Fig. 8 is a front view of the gate;
Figs. 9 and 10, views of the apparatus upon which the carriage wheel acts;
and Fig. 11, a diagram of the road. In Fig. 11 the numbers of reference 1,
2, 3, 4, shew the situations of the traps upon which the wheel acts, the con-.
struction of which is as follows, a, Fig. 9; 10, is a metal plate, turning upon

page_text: a centre at b, and constituting one part of å bell-crank lever, the other part of
which is shewn by dots at 6*, carrying a chain d, which is tightened at e,
commencing as before at 1, Fig. 11; the chain & passes to a guide pulley f
(Fig. 8), and from thence to a larger pulley g, to which it is made fast.
Upon the plate a therefore being depressed, the said chain is drawn in the
direction of. the arrow, whereby the pulley 9 is caused to turn upon its
centre, and this turning by means of a connecting rod acts upon a bracket l'
attached to the centre of motion of the .gate; which will thus be turned
upward, as above described. The carriage having passed through the gate,
and a wheel having arrived at the trap 2, that apparatus will, as in reference
to g, become depressed, whereby a chain k will be drawn in the direction of
the arrow; and the pulley i will be turned downward, so as to close the gate:
If the carriage be travelling in the opposite direction, a wheel thereof will
arrive firstly upon the trap 3, and then upon 4, the effect of which will be to
draw the respective chains m, n, to open and close the gate, as above
described.
I have, in the foregoing description, alluded to certain constructions of
gates, but they may be of metal, or of wood in various forms. I have also
shewn certain methods by which a gate may be opened and closed without the
direct action of the hand, but I do not intend to confine myself thereto, as
many arrangements suitable to the essential character of my Invention may
be employed; that which I claim as secured to me under the above in part
recited Letters Patent being the use of a gate that will open and collapse;
after the manner above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Webb, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
THOS. WEBB. (L.S.)