15,513. Walters, A. A. July 9. Lifts.-Doors or barriers 1 for lift shafts, which are automatically raised and lowered and unlocked by the passage of the cage, are suspended by cords 3 passing over pulleys. The cord, connected to the gate at the top story, carries a counterweight 9 sliding in guides arranged on the side of the shaft. Attached above and below the counterweight are ropes 10, 19 passing over pulleys to a sliding block 12, Fig. 7, having rollers 14 running in grooves 15 in vertical guides 18. To the block 12 is centrally pivoted a lever 16, which carries rollers 22 running against the outer edge of one of the guides 18, and has an arm 17 projecting into the well so as to be engaged by tappets on the cage. The guides 18 are cut away at the lower end, as shown in Fig. 5. so that the lever 16 may swing about its axis and allow the tappets on the cage to pass the arm 17. In one of the cut-away portions, a pivoted lever controlled by a spring 25 is provided to throw the arm 17 into the operative position again after the cage has passed. At the intermediate floors, the counterweight is formed aiso as a sliding block with a projecting arm or lever, and the guides 18 of each block are cut away at both ends to allow the tappets on the cage to pass At the bottom floor, only the block carried by the counterweight is required. The cage has two sets of tappets, one set 38, 39 on the roof to engage the arms carried by the blocks, and the other set 40, 41 coacting with the arms carried by the inner blocks. The tappets 38, 39, Fig. 4, consist of two pivoted levers connected by a spring 42, each being prevented from turning in the direction of rotation of the other by stops. The tappets 40, 41 are arranged similarly to the tappets 38, 39. In operation, supposing the cage about to ascend past an intermediate door, the tappets on the roof engage the right-hand arm 17. The upper tappet 38 passes the arm 17 which is then engaged by the lower one 39, which raises it and allows the counterweight sliding in the inner guides to fall and so raise the door 1, until the arm is turned aside into the cutaway portion to allow the tappet to pass. The lower tappet 41 on the floor of the cage engages the arm of the counterweight block to close the door. The upper tappets 38, 40 are operative during the descent of the cage. The operation at the limit floors is somewhat similar. The doors are normally locked by a spring-controlled bolt 60, Fig. 6, engaging a tooth or catch 61. This bolt is linked by a rod 59 to one arm of a bell-crank 55. The other arm is attached to a spring eye-bolt 51 connected to the suspending-cord of the gate. By this arrangement, tension in the suspending-cord is caused to unlock the gate previous to raising it. According to the Provisional Specification, a telescopic guard, for use with an open goods lift, is secured to the bottom of the cage and bridges the unguarded opening momentarily left as the cage and gate pass each other ; also a hinged wire frame is used where there is sufficient room for entering tall cases &c. and when loading or unloading the cases at the level of a cart or truck.