US1685225A - Gate mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 25, 1928.

T. BRADY GATE MECHAN'ISM' 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed July 10, 1926 ATTORNEY (M (EMA- INVENTOR FIG. 6

Sept. 25, 1928.

T. BRADY GATE MECHANISM Filed July 10, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 11 (8M4: INVENTOR r I l l l lil l Y 0' ATTORNEY apparent from the speclfication, taken in the gate arranged in two sections and pro- Patented Septi 25, 1928.,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,"-

rrnomas BRADY, OE

211W, 0]! JERSEY CITY, NEW

EAST ORANGE, NEW JERsEY, AssreNOE 'ro OTIS ELEVATOR cou- JERSEY, A CORPORATION or NEW JEBsEY,

GATE MECHANISM.

Application filed July 10, 1926. Serial no. 121,572.

a gate which is capable of'covering a passageway of any width in an enclosure when in closed position and of uncovering the entire passageway when moved into open position. v Another feature is to provide a gate, in the operation of which, danger'of injury to personsis reduced to a minimum.

- Still another feature resides in the provision of a gate capable of being moved around a corner on a trajectory having an exceedinglyshort radius with the application of .but very little force. i

A fourth feature is the provision of a gate of the above character which is of simple yet rigid construction and which may be cheaply mnaufactured and installed.

Other features and advantages will become connection with the accompanying drawings wherein the invention is embodied in; concrete form. 1

In the drawings: V

Figure 1 is a view in elevation, with parts broken away, of a gate shown inelosed "fosition on an elevator car, the car being illus. trated in section along line 1-1 of Figure ,2;

Figure 2 isa plan view of the same, with parts omitted in order to illustrate certain structural details and with the gate shown in open position;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view, with parts broken away, illustrating structural details of the gate;

Figure 4 is a view in partial section taken along broken line 44 of Figure 3; 1 I 1 Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentallplan view of a portion of the gate, illustrating the manner in which the gate turns around a corner; 4

Figure 6 is a detail view of a rail bumper and its mounting; v

Figure 7 is a plan view, with parts omitted in order to illustrate certain structural details, of the gate in Open position and abutting the car frame;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7, with the gate arranged in two sections, illustrating the manner in which these sections extend is in open position;

' rods or tubes 10 Each hinge pair of. lugs 14.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary View of the gate of Figure 8, with the sections in their closed positions and provided with mechanism for causing, upon movement of one section, corresponding movement of the other section;

Flgure 10 is a view in front elevation of the gate of Figure 1 provided with power Operating mechanism, the parts being in gate open positlon; Figure 11 is an enlarged view inside elevatlon of the power operating mechanism illustrated in Figure 10; I

Figure 12 is a View taken along line 12-12 of Figure 11, certain parts being shown in section to illustrate structural details; Figure 13 is an enlarged detail in partial sectlon, taken along line 13-13 of Figure 10;

Figure 14 is an enlarged detail with parts Figure 15 is an enlarged detail, taken along Y theline 15--15 of Figure 12; and

Figure 16 is a view in front elevation of vided with power operating mechanism, the parts being in gate closed position. I

iThe form of gate illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 is'composed of a plurality of vertical connected by hinge members 1. The hinge members are preferably arranged in three rows, one row at the top of the gate, one at the bottom and one in the middle. member comprises a yoke 12, a pair of lugs13 extending outwardly therefrom and a similar but oppositely extending A wider space is provided between the, lugs hinge member to extend therebetween. Apertures 15 are rovided in lugs 13 and similar apertures 16 in lu'gs'14. With a pair of adj acent hinge members in assembled relation, the apertures 15 and 16 are in vertical alignment so as to receive one of thetubes- 10. These hinge members are positioned on the tube by a sleeve extending between lugs 14. This sleeve is secured to the tube by means of a pin 61 passing through the sleeve and the tube, at a point midway of the length of the sleeve. Lugs 13 and 14 have a turning fit on the tube 10.

The two end tubes and one or more of the intermediate tubes 10, depending upon the width of the gate, extend upwardly into hangers 18." A wide gate might have several 13 than between the lugs' 1 1 in order to permit the lugs 14 on the adjacent intermediate .hangers. shown in Figures 3 and 4, a boss 20, formed on the bottom of hanger'18, is provided wit-h a vertical aperture 21 into which the tube 10- extends. The

tionally mounted roller 27'is supported be- I way 38. Each pintle 29 (see an upper portion extending into a tube. This, oove about tween the sides of the hanger as by a screw 28 threaded into theside 25 of the hanger.

This roller rides on the track 30. The boss 1 20 extends upwardly in the'form of lugs at each side of the track 30 to form a guide for the hanger 18. These lugs are convexly curved on the side facing the track, as illustrated in Figure 5, to allow the hanger to ass around a corner. The track 30 acts hot as a support and as a guide for'the gate. The

intermediate tubes not secured to hangershave guide pintles 68 inserted in their upper ends. Each guide pintle 68 has a cylindrical shank (see Figure 3) extending downward-' 1y into the tube 10. The shank has a turning fit within the tube thus permitting the guide pintle to swivel on'the top of the tube., The guide pintle has upwardly extending lugs 69 similar to the lugs on the boss 20 of a hanger. These lugs present convex faces to the track, as illustrated in Figure 5, and serve to guide the tube 10 along the track.

As shown in Figure 2, the track 30 extends across-the front, bends at the front left-hand corner and continues along the side of the car to the rear the'reof.- The track is support ed an intervals along the path Lust described in an suitable manner, as by H ing t roughthe track 30, spacing members 62, and angle bars 23 secured to the top of the car andextending' across the front of the car and along the side thereof. The lower ends of the tubes 10 carry pintles 29which extend downwardl into a guide I igure 4) has upper portion has an annular midway of its length into whic the tube is crimped, thus securely holding such portion within the tube. The guide way 38 has the same contour as the overhead track 30 and is formed in a plate member 40 which is secured to the car floor by means of screws 42. This platemember is cut away at the gate opening to receive the car sill in Figure 4. Sleeves 46 43 as shown extend between lugs 13 of the right end hinge member in each row and are secured to the right end tube 10 by means of pins passing through the sleeves and tube.

Bumpers 47 are secured to sleeves 46 midway of their length and engage the side of the car olts 31. p855? when the gate is fully'c losed. Bumpers, similar to bumpers 47, are secured to supports 50 mounted at the rear of the car in the line of travel of the gate, these bumpers engaging sleeves 60 of the left end hinge members when the gate is. completely opened. In lieu of thesebumpers, a bumper; 64,mounted as illustrated in Figure 6, may be used to form-"a 'stop for the gate, particularly where the gate, in its fullyopened position, does not extendv to the rear ofthe car. Referring.

to Figure 6, the support 66 for the bumper 64 is. adjustably mounted on track 30, the

It is to be understood that, if desired, the

track and rollers may be arranged at the bottom of the at the top.

A cylindrical handle 70 is provided on the right end tube 10, preferably below themids dle hinge member. This handle surrounds the tube and is clamped thereon as by screws 7 2-passing through the halves of the handle.

The handle comprises a central tubular portion having thinwalls to permit the insertion of the hand between the handle and the next tube. At the ends of this tubular por tion, the handle is formed into thick beads through which screws 72 pass. The handle protects-the surface of the tube from being tarnished by. constant contact with the hand -of: the operator and is preferably made. of a composition material such as bakelite. More than one handle may be employed, if desired,

"to facilitate the operating of the gate. Such anarrangement wouldbe particularly desi'rable inv case of wide cars. In Figure 1 the.

gate is illustrated as provided with an additional handle 71 secured to an intermediate tube. I

With the gate thus arranged for manual operation'and in closed o'sitionas illustrated 'in- Figure 1, to open-t e' gate the operator may gras the handle'jl on the intermediate": tube, pul ing the gateto the left. The left end tube 10 is illustrated in Figure 1 as substantially on the bend of the track. Upon movement of the gate to the left, the lugs on the left end hanger, extendingv upwardly on each side of the track, cause the hanger to follow the curved-portion of the track around to the side'of the car. Thus the tube, carried by the hanger is guided around the corner, aided by the coaction of the pintle 29 and guideway 38. Likewise the succeeding tubes not secured to hangers are guided around the corner by the coaction of the lugs 69 of the gate with the guide way disposed guide pintles 68 and the track at the top and aes'aaaa the bottom. Figure illustrates the difierent positions which the various parts may assume. As previously explained, the left end tube is free to turn in lugs-I4 of the left end hinge members and likewise each succeeding tube' is free'to turn in both lugs 13, and 14 of successive hinge members. Tubes not provided with'hangers are also free'to turn on their I guide pintles 68. The movement of the left relative turning between this tube and its end tube' around thecorner is permitted by hinge members and relative turning between these hinge members'and the adjacent tube.

The successive tubes and hinge members act in a simllar manner during the continued movement of the gate around the corner. As

the handle 71 of the intermediatetube. nears the left side of the car,.the operator releases this handle and'graspshandle 7 0 on the right end tube to complete .the movement of the gate. Thetrack 30 and guideway 38 guide,- the gatebetween the side of the car and thecar. frame 76. Upon the gate reaching its open position, itis stopped by the engagement of the sleeves 60of the left end-hinge the car with the gate inopen' position. The.

gate may be closed b reverse operation. The operatorgrasps't e handle 70 of the right end tube, pulling the gate to the right.

As theintermediate portion of the gate moves to the front of the car, the operator. may re lease the handle .70 and complete the gate clo'sing operation by means of the handle 71.

As the. gate reaches'itsclosed position, it is stopped in a similar manner by the en' age-, ment of bumpers/l7 with the'right-han side of the car. Due to the construction of the hanger bosses 20 and guide pintles 68, the gate is prevented from leaving the track due to faulty operation, such as lifting of the gate.

The portion of thecar wall, illustrated as extending around to-the front, may be omitted,-if desired. and the gate may-be arranged to open all the. we aroun side. In thisevent, shoul the car not be deep enough, the track and guideway maybe extended around another'corner at the'rear of the car so as to allow for the-movement.

Should the car be too deep, a bumper of the type shown in Figure 6,'already described, may be used. Although the gate has been described as arranged on an elevator ear con trolled by an operator, it is to be understood that it is equally adapted for cars which are controlled by the passengers themselves. Furthermore, the gate may be used on elevator cars of the freight type as well as those employed for passenger service. 'Also, it is of material suitable'to abto the -tra'ted in to be understood that the. hatchwaydoors located at the various landings may be constructed and arranged in a similar manner.

It is to be noted that the positioning of the hinge members on the tubes by the sleeves 60 permits each hingemember .to be mountedso as to be free to turn on the tubes which extend therethrough, resulting in large radial.

bearing surfaces between the tubes and hinge members. The effectiveness of these bearing surfaces is greatly increased by having the hinge member lugs considerably spaced lengthwise of the tubes. The spacing of these lugs, in conjunction with the fact that the apertures provided therein are of such size as to permit the free turning and movement of the tubes, eliminate such friction as might be caused by misalignment ofthe apertures of the lugs or deflection of the tubes during operation. It is to befurther noted that" tubes intermediate the hangers are supported from these hangers by the sleeves 6O acting through the hinge members. This construcquent decrease in friction, but also permits the use of the swivel guide pintles for these mum, permitting its operation withtheapplication of but very little force. Y

It has been found in actual practice that the gate is practically silent in operation.

Due to the fact that the tubes are maintainedseparated at all times, the danger of injury to the operator or passengers, such as pinching of the hands or fingers, is substantially eliminated. Furthermore, due to the fact that the gate uncovers the whole of the passageway into the car when opened, the traflio ma be handled with maximum despatch.

Xlthoughthe gate described in connection with Figures 1 to -5 inclusive is arranged to extendto the ,rear of thecar when in open position, it may also be arranged to extend only part way "aIOUIIdftO the side as illustends only to the car frame 7 t -when n open position. elimination of the passageway for the gate vision ofcar space is particularly desirable in. installations wherein I conservation of vhatchway space is extremely important. ,The

structural details of the gate are the same as those of the gate previously described.

Figure In this figure the gate .ex-'

This arrangement permits the 7 tion not only permits a material reduction of the total number of hangers, with the conse- Bumpers'75, similar to bumpers 47 secured to the sleeves ofthe right end tube, may be secured to the car frame in the path of sleeves 60 of the left end tube .to form a stop for the gate as it moves into its open position. On the other hand, a bumper 64, mounted as illustrated in Figure 6 and already described,

may be used in lieu of the bumpers 5, if desired, particularly where the gate, in its fully opened position, does .not extend to the car fram 7 4:.

trated in Figure 7, the two sections extend only to the car frame when the gate is in open position. Thus a gate arranged in this mannor would be particularly desirable for use where both maximum car opening and conservation of space are important factors. As shown in Figure 9, the lelt end tube of the right section of the gate and the right end tube of'thelelt section of the gate are pro vided with guide pintles 68 at their upper ends. 'Sleeves 7 8 similar to sleeves 46, with "the exception that they are not provided with 85 b umpers, are secured, as by pins passing through the sleeves and tube, to the left end tube of the right section of the gate and ex tend between the lugs 13 'of the hinge members. Sleeves 46 are secured to the right end tube of the left section of the gate between the lugs 13 of the hinge members. When the gate is completely closed, as shown in Figure. '9, bumpers 47 carried by the'sleeves 46 of the left section of the gate engage the sleeves 78 of the right section. As in the case of the .gate arranged to extend only part way around to the side of the car, as described in connection with Figure 7, bumpers 75 are secured to the car frame in the'path of sleeves 60, provided for each section, .to form stops for the gate as it moves into its open position. On the other hand, bumpers mounted as illustrated in Figure 6, and already described, maybe used in lieu or bumpers 75 if desired, particularly where the in its fullyopened position, does not extend to the car frame.

Although each section the gate may be" operated individually, it preferred to provide an arrangement whereby the movement of one section automatically causes corresponding movement of the other. A. suitable arrangement for effecting such movement is illustrated in Figure 9. "July one operating handle is provided, this handle being se= In some installations it may be desirable to .extending arm 88 is secured. The lower trace of a chain 87 is fastenedto the upper end of th1s arm. The chain 87, the tension of which is maintained constant as by a belt tightener,

not shown, passesiover pulleys83 and 84: mounted as on brackets '85 and 86. These brackets may be secured to the angle bar 23 so as to be positioned-at the left and right of the car as shown. An upwardly extending arm 90, to which the upper trace of the chain is fastened, is secured to the left hanger of the right section of the gate /Vith the gate arranged for operation as above described and in closed position as illustrated in Figure 9, to open the gate the operator may grasp the handle 70 on the right tube of the left section oi the gate, pulling this section to. the left. Upon movement of this section of the gate to the left, the arm 88 and hence also the lower trace of the chain 87 will move to the left, causingthe movement ofthe up er trace of the chain, to which the arm 90 is astened, to the right and thus efi'ecting the movement ol the right section of the gate to the right. Thus the opening and I likewise the closing of one section of the gate will cause a corresponding movement of the other section. The handle 70 may be placed I on the right section of the gate if desired, thus efiiecting operation of the left section through movement of the right section.

Up to-this point, the gate has been described as adapted for manual operation. However, the gate is equally adapted for power operation. A suitable arrangement of ower operating mechanism is illustrated in igures 10 to 16 inclusive' Referring particularly to Figure 10, a pneumatic gate engine carried by the car-at the top thereof and indicated as a whole by the numeral 80, actuates an operating arm 91 to move the gate intoopen and closed positions, This arm is connected to the gate by means of a bracket 95 through whichthe lower end of the arm extends. As illustrated in Figure 13, this bracket consists of two rectangular lates 96 and 97.. These plates are formed with spac ing members 81 and at the four corners are provided with guide rollers 98, thus permitting tree sliding movement oi? the gate; opersting arm within the bracket; Plate 96 is formed I with a shank 100 which extends through a gate clamp 101,. Gate clamp lOl consistent two similar and opposed clamp members 102 and 103, These clamp members conform to the two left end tubes of the gate and are clamped thereto by bolts 104:. The shank 100 of the plate 96 is free to swivel in the gate clamp 161, being provided with a nut l05 on the end thereof for retaining the shank. within the clamp. The nut 105 is locked on the shank 100 as by a pin 106. With igeeaaae ure 10, the gate operating arm 91 is parallel with the tubes of the gate and is at the right Y horizontal direction for 91 is adjustably .throu ofthe gate opening. At a point just above the j guide bracket the gate operating arm bends downwardly toward the right at anthe application of the drivguide'bracket in nearly a all positions of the angle to permit ing force to the gate.

The upper end of the gate operating arm secured to an elbow 92. As clearly "illustrated positioned in a u-shaped recess formed in the elbow means of two straps 107 held tight against the gate operating arm by bolts 108 passing h the straps and elbow. By loosening these olts 108, the gate operating arm may be adjusted within the elbow 92 as desired, whereupon the bolts are again tightened, thus locking the arm in position. The elbow 92 is pivotally supported by a screw 93 passing through the upright portion of the engine base plate 94." This late, as illustrated in Figure 11, is secured to an angle bar 89. This angle bar is secured to an upright plate 99 which in turn is attached to angle bar 23, secured to the top of the car. The elbow 92 is formed with a lug to which the bifurcated end of a link 111 is pivotally secured as by pin 112. Link 111 extends horizontally from elbow 92 toward the center of the car and is pivotally connected at its other end to a lever 113 b means of pin 114 (see Figures 10 and 12 As shown in Figure 15, lever 113, at its lower end, is formed into a fork which fitsover a pedestal116. The lever 113 is pivotally mounted on the pedestal as by a shaft 115 extending through the forked ends of the lever and the pedestal. The shaft is positioned in the pedestal as by a set screw 117. A portion of the lever 113 just above the bolt 114 is slotted, the portion of the lever at each side of the slot being provided with a pair of oppositely projecting lugs 109 and 119, the purpose of which will appear later. Above this slotted portion, the lever extends upwardly and is formed at its upper end with oppositely extending connection lugs 118 and 120 for the piston rods of the pneumatic cylinders of the gate engine. As illustrated for piston rod 122, lug 118 is apertured to receive a pivot bolt 121 which extends through the bifurcated end of the rod.

Referrin to Figure 12, piston rod 122 extends into t e pneumatic cy inder 123 and has a piston 124 secured to the free end thereof. Piston 124 is provided with a cup leather 125 which prevents theleakage of compressed air from the under side to the'upper side thereof.

An apertured plug in the'cylinder head 136 permits the free passage of air into an out of the neumatic cylinder above the piston 124. ompr'ssed air may be fed to the in Figure 14, this arm is 92 and is retained therein by' the cylinder has a projecting tongue 152 extending becylinder 123 below the piston by means of the .hose 126 connected to aperture 127 in the bot-.

131 are of the same construction as piston rod 122 and plneumatic cylinder 123. Compressed air may e fed to pneumatic cylinder 131 by means of hose-133 connected to aperture 134 of the cylinder.

Each of the pneumatic cylinders is provided with a liquid check. These checks are operated by the cylinders. acting through h the tongue and the sides lever 113, the piston rods of the checks being pivotally connected by yokes 137 and 160 to the lever at lugs 109 and 119. The yoke 137 has one end thereof between the lugs 109 of the slotted part of lever 113 and. is connected thereto by pivot bolt 138 passing through the lugs 109 and the yoke. The other end 0 the yoke is threaded to receive the piston rod 140. This piston rod extends into the liquid check cylinder 141 and has a piston 142 secured to its free end by means of a pin 143 extending through the piston and piston rod. The piston 142 is snug-fitting within the liquid check cylinder 141 and has a bypath 144therethrough provided with a ball check 145 which permits a flow of liquid from the side of the piston to which the piston rod is connected to the other side thereof but prevents a reverse flow of the liquid. The liquid check cylinder 141 has a number of circumferentially spaced longitudinal grooves in the inner wall thereof, these grooves extending from the inner side of the cylinder head 146 to within a short distance of the bottom plug 147. A bypath 148 connects one of these longitudinal grooves with the ungrooved portion of the cylinder 141 at a point adjoining the bottom plug 147. A needle valve 150 is threaded into the plug 151 so as to permit adj ustm'ent to vary the effective area of the bypath 148. An apertured filling plug 149 is threaded into the liquid check cylinder near head 146. The bottom plug 147 tween the sides of the bearing block 153 mounted on the engine base plate 94. The

liquid check cylinder is pivotally supported tau on this bearing block by'the shaft 154 extenda ing through the tongue and the sides of the block. As in the case of yoke 137, yoke hasone end thereof between the lugs 119 of d the slotted part of the lever 113 and is secured thereto by pivot bolt 16.1 passing through the lugs 119 and the yoke. The other end of the same construction as piston rod140 and liquid check cylinder 141.

vThe admission of compressed air to the neumatic cylinders 123 and 131 is controlled y means of a valve 132. This valve is provided with an inlet pipe 128, connected to a suitable source of compressed air (not shown), and outlet pipes 159 and169, connected to hose 126 and 133 respectively. The valve is provided with an operating arm 164 which is pivotally connected to one end of the link 165. Link 165 is pivotally connected at its other end to a lever 166 which is fixed upon a shaft 167 rotatably supported by the standards 168 and 170. Thesestandards are secured to a platform 17]. supported on an angle frame 172 attached at the front to stiffening angles 129 and at the rear to the underside of the crosshead 173 of the car frame. A lever 174 is secured to "shaft 167. This lever extends downwardl and has a chain 17 5 attached to its free on The chain 175 has its opposite end attached to a. shaft 176. This shaft is connected through reduction gearing within the casing 179 to the motor 177. Adjustable stops 182 are secured upon the motor'base in positions to be engaged by a crank 183 carried b the shaft 176 to limit the angular motion 0 the shaft. A

lever 178, also secured to shaft 167, hasa tension spring 180 attached to its free end.

'-The other end of the tension spring 180 is attached to the frame 172. Another lever 192' is secured to shaft 167 and has a rope 193 attached to its free end. Rope 193 extends downwardly through the top of the car and has a handle (not shown) secured to its lower end.- This handle is positioned so that it is within easy reach of the operator.

Assume that the gate isin openposition as illustrated in Figure 10. a In order to cause the operation of the gate engine to close the gate, the motor 177 is energized. This may be accomplished in various ways, as for example, in an elevator under the control of an operator within thecar, by causing the motor to be energized in response to the movement of the car switch out of off position. The

motor, upon energization, acts through the reduction gearing to cause rotative movement of shaft 176 to wind up the chain 175. Lever 174, connected to chain 175, 1s therefore swung clockwise, as viewed in this figure, causing a corresponding angular movement of attached shaft 167. Lever 166, secured to shaft 167, is turned with the shaft, thus raising link 165 and effecting anupward swinging'movement of the valve operating arm 164. Valve 132 is thus operated to cause the admission of compressed air through hose 126 to pneuinatic cylinder 123. At the same/time hose 133 is connected by the cylinder. Lever 113, connected to piston I rod 122, is .thus swung about its supporting 1 Shaft 115. As aresult, the elbow 92, being connected to lever 113 by link 111, is swung clockwise about its pivotal screw 93. Thus the gate operating arm 91, carried by the elbow 92, also swings clockwise and, sliding in guide bracket 95, eflects the closing operatlon of the gate. The position of the gate operating arm with the gate in closed position is indicated in dotted lines. Inasmuch as pneumatic cylinder- 131 is connected to the atmosphere on both sides of its piston during this operation, piston rod 130 offers no re-, sistance to the closing movement.

At the beginning of the closing movement, the liquid check piston 142 is at its innermost position in liquid check cylinder 141, as shown n Figure 12. In this position the piston has its inner end in contact with the bottom plug 147 and its cylindrical surface in contact with the ungrooved portion of the cylinder wall. As piston 142 starts to move away from the bottom plug 147, the reduced pressure resulting in the space between the inner end of the piston 142 and the plug 147 causes the ball check 145 to open. This permits liquid toflow into this space from the side of piston 142 to which the piston rod is attached through the bypath in the piston. At the.

same time a limited amount of liquid flows into this space through the bypath 148. Thus the resistance offered to the initial closing.

of the liquid check piston within cylinder 163.

The, action of this piston within its cylinder to retard the movement of the gate at the end of the gate closing operation is the same as the action of liquid check'piston 142 within cylinder 141 to retard the movement of the gate at the end of the gate opening operation. It is believed that, inasmuch -as the structure of piston 142 and cylinder 141-is illustrated in section, the retarding operation will be more readily understood by an explanation of the action of this piston and cylinder. It will be assumed, therefore, that the gate is being opened. The piston 142, therefore, is moving toward the right, as viewed in neeaaae Figure 12.1 While the piston is moving in the grooved portion of the cy1inder',the liquid moves freely in the the piston to the other, permitting free movement of the gate toward its open position. As the piston enters the ungrooved portion'of the cylinder, its movement, and therefore that of-the gate, is "immediately retarded. This retardation is due to the inability of the liquid to continue to pass around the piston and to the action of the ball check 145. This check prevents the flow ofliquid trapped between the piston and the bottom plug .147 through the piston bypath 144 into the grooved portion of the cylinder. The flow of this trapped liquid to the other side of the piston therefore must beby way of the byv path 148 and, as-this passage is restricted by the needle valve 150, this flow occurs very slowly.- Thus this piston and the gate are retarded intheir movement. The piston, thus restrained, moves very slowly as it continues in motion-and is finally brought to a stop as it engages the bottom'plug 147'; The gate, therefore, is brought to rest easily and quietly and yet within a minimum of time. Thus, in

the gate closing operation, as the gate'nears' its closed position, 1t is retarded by the action of the liquid check piston within cylinder 163 in the same manner as the above described action of piston 142 in cylinder141 during the .133 to pneumatic cylinder 131. time hose 126 is connected to the mufier 181 link 111 and elbow gate opening operation.

The gate opening tion of motor 177, the tension sprin 180, acting through lever 17 8,'tur ns the shaft 167, and causes levers 166 and 174 to revolve in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 10.1. The revolving of lever '174 moyes chain 17 5 to the right, causing 1t to unwind from shaft 176. The resulting movement of this shaft acting throughthe reduction gearing within casing 179 causes the reverse rotative movement of oflever-166 moves link 165 downwardly, as viewed in Figure 10, to actuate the connected valve operating arm 164 into position to cause the admission of compressed air through hose At the same thus permitting the escape of the compressed air in pneumatic cylinder 123. The pressure upon the piston within pneumatic cylinder- 131 causes piston rod 130 to swing lever 113 about its supporting shaft 115. Connected 92 arethus actuated, effecting', through movement of gate operating arm 91 the opening of the gate. I The gate is checked at the end of its opening movement by piston 142 entering the ungrooved portion of liquid check cylinder 141 in the manner already described. No resistanceto this 0 ening movement isofiered by the action 0 the liquid check piston within cylinder 163, the action being the same as that described tor grooves fromone side ofoperationis similar to the gateclosing operation. Upon deenergiza-- motor 177. The revolving piston 142 within check cylinder 141 during the gate closing operation.

The compressed air supply to the gate enbreakage of the supply mains ortrouble with the compressor. In this event the gate may be operated by hand. In both of the two positions assumed by the valve. operating arm 164, one or the other of the pneumatic cylin-. ders 123and 131 is connected through valve 132 to the atmosphere. At the time one cylinder is connecte to the atmosphere the other gine may fail owing to such causes as the isconnected by the valve 132 to the supply mains. In the event that the air pressure n the mainsfails, no resistance can be offered by, the air within the mains to the movement of thespiston within the cylinder connected to the mains. Therefore hand operation pf the gatewill cause the pistons within the pneumtic cylinders to slide idly within these cylinders without offering any resistance to the manual operation. The liquidv checks will operate to check the gate at each end of its movement'just as in the power operation.

In the eventth'at the electric current supplied to the motor 177 should fail, thegate may still be operated. This is made possible by the manual operation of valve 132. 132 is biased to gate opening position b the spring 180. Therefore, as described ahove, upon the deenergization of motor 177 the spring 180 will cause the'gate to open. To

close the gatethe operator grasps the handle connected with the rope 193 and pulls the lever 192 downwardly. Thus the shaft 167 Valve is turned against the resistance ofiered by the Spring closing of the gate.

The gate engine may 160 upon their respective check piston rods thereby efiec'ting a corresponding variation in the permissible stroke ofthe pneumatic 180 and the valve operating arm 164 is actuated as above described to cause the be accommodated to 'varlous widths of gate openings by changing the position of the threaded yokes 137 and cylinder pistons and in the movement of the gate operating arm 91.

It is to be understood that motor 177 may] be employed also to control thepoweroper'ation of the various hatchway doors. In such instance a retiring cam, carried by the car,

is employed to efiect the operation of the controlling valves for the various door operatmay be of thesame construction as the gate already described.

This-pneumatic gate engine may beused to operate the two-way or center opening arranged gate in the manner illustrated in 'Figme 16. In this figure the lever 188 connected to the piston rods of the pneumatic cylinders is keyed to its supporting shaft'l90. This shaft has a crank arm 184 secured-thereto.-

Links 185 and 186 are pivotally connected to the ends of crank arm 184 and to gate operating arms. 187 and 189 respectively. The gate Operating arms for convenience of illus tration are shown as pivoted directly on the engine base plate 191 but it is obvious that these gate operating arms may be carried by elbowssimilar to elbow 92. In operation it will be noted that the swinging of thecrank arm 184 moves the links 185 and 186 in opposite directions, thus effecting the desired motion' of the, two sections of the gate.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this inventioncould be made without'departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be-interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What isclaimed is: I

1. A- gate comprising, a plurality of paraL lel verticalmembers, a plurality of hinges for 1 connecting said members together, said hinges being -arranged in a plurality of horizontal 'rows; and a plurality of members, secured to the vertical members and movable with re spect to the hinges, for positioning the hinges on the vertical members.

2. A gate comprising, adjacent vertical members, ahinge member connecting said members, said hinge member being provided with apertures through which the vertical members extend, and a sleeve secured to one of,

the vertical members for positioning the hinge member on said vertical member.

" 3: A gate comprising, a plurality of spaced 4 vertical tubes, supporting'hangers attached to certain of said tubes, hinge members connecting and spacing said tubes, and sleeves secured to the tubes, said sleeves serving to -posit1on the hinge members on the tubes.

- 4., In combination; an elevator car; a corrtinuous track secured to said car and extending across the front and along aside thereof; and a gate comprising a plurality of vertical members, hangers supporting certain of said members, said'hangers having rollers riding on the track, hinges for securing the adjacent rollers arranged to rideon the track, a plurality of hinge members, arranged-in a plurality of rows, for connecting the adjacent tubes, a plurality of sleeve members attached to the tubes for positioning the hinge mem-' bers thereon; and a channel secured to the floor of'the car into which the pintles extend, said channel extending "across the front and alongsaid side of the car in vertical align- ,ment with said track.

'6. In combination; an elevator car; a track secured to said car at the top and extending across the front and along thesides thereof;

a gate having a plurality of sections each section comprising a plurality of vertical tubes, hangers secured to the upper ends of certain of the tubes, said hangers having rollers arranged to ride on the track, a plurality of hinge members, arranged in a plurality of rows, for connecting adjacent tubes, and a plurality of sleeve members attached to'the tubes for positionin the; hinge members thereon; and a guide fbr the lower ends of the tubes secured to the floor of the car and extending across the front and along the sides of the car in vertical alignment with said track.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

' THOMAS BRADY.

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