US2433763A - Gate and interlock for elevators - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 30, 1947. v LE ROY H. KIESLING 2,433,763

' GATE AND, INTERLOCK FOR ELEVATORS Filed Aug. 26, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l 4 fil 4a 38 I 32 /3 p 111253 1. W Lnul BY mwmmlm Q .fi'n

egg aMh/l ATTORNEYS- Dec. 30, 1947. LE ROY H. KIESLING 2,433,763

GATE AND INTERLOCK FOR ELEVATORS 'Filed Aug. 26, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR L- H. Kms) n13 BYWMM,

K j Agm Patented Dec. 30, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GATE AND INTERLOCK FOR ELEVATORS Le Roy H..Kiesling, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application August 26, 1943, Serial No. 500,055

14 Claims. 1

The illustrative disclosure herein is in certain aspects an embodiment of, and is an improvement on, the elevator system and gate construction disclosed in my prior copending application Serial No. 465,111, filed November 10, 1942 and which has since issued as Patent No. 2,411,882; and as with said prior application the improvement hereof is adapted to various practical uses, as on passenger or freight elevators, or for dumb waiters adapted to convey goods from fioor to fioor, preferably under electric drive and pushbutton control. The system may comprise one or a plurality of cars traveling within a suitable hoistway. shaft or trunk, between two or more fioors or stations, adapted for restaurant or factory use, or between the decks of a ship. In these various instances a gate is substantially essential for closing the gateway or each gateway of the dumbwaiter or other elevator, at the front or the back of the car, or both,,to confine safely and prevent falling out of goods.

The general object of the present invention is to afford an elevator system of greater efficiency, convenience and safety. Another object is to provide an improved and reliable control means for the car drive, operable from the condition of the gate whether open or closed and which can be compactly accommodated in the limited space usually available. A particular object is to improve and render more efficient the combination of, and the connections between, the car gate and the power control devices that are preferably mounted in fixed locations within the hoistway. Further objects and advantages will be explained in the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention or will be understood by those conversant with the subject. To the attainment of such objects and advantages the present invention consists in the novel elevator system including novelfeatures of operation and control and features of collapsible gate, as well as novel features of combination, arrangement and construction herein illustrated or described.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of sufficient of an elevator system to illustrate the principles of the invention, showing the gate in its lowered, expanded or closed position, and indicating the connections therefrom to the controller or switch box mounted at a fixed position in the hoistway in relation to a given station or deck of the building or ship.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the elevator car shown in Fig. l, on the same scale.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view on an enlarged scale of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig, 2.

Fig. 4, on an intermediate scale,is a partial vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig.- 1, looking from the right, the gate being shown in its raised, collapsed or open position, and there latched.

Figs. 5 and 6 and 7 are partial front elevation views on a scale larger than that of Fig. 1 but smaller than that of Fig. 4 showing successive positions of the car gate, or its top panel, as will be further disclosed, the gate being in the process of being raised or opened, the reverse order indicating its closing movements.

Fig. 8 is an analytical diagram of the movements of the gate, with reference to the topmost panel or link-pair thereof, it being understood that the linkage therebelow follows the same action.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary front elevation view showing a modification wherein certain gate movements, effected through resilient or spring means and stop means in the main embodiment, may instead be effected by cam means.

The hoistway or trunk is not shown except to the extent that it is indicated by the shaft wall 9 in Fig. 1; the car l0 being shown as a conventional dumbwaiter, guided in its upward and downward traveling movements by conventional guiding means, not shown, and the hoisting means or cables also being omitted as unnecessary .for a disclosure of the present invention. The

electric drive is usual, accompanied by electric control, conventional push-buttons or similar control devices at the respective floors or stations being understood.

The car ID as a structure is shown as comprising a ceiling or top wall II and a floor or bottom wall [2, the sunken ceiling being supported by upright or drop walls l3 from the right and left side walls M of the car. The car may be open at the front or at the back, or at both front and back, providing two gateways, the front one of which is shown as closable by the collapsible gate 3|, the rear gateway being shown without such gate, for simplifying the disclosure. As best seen in the top view in Fig. 3 each side wall 14 is shown as having an outwardly extending fiangs l through which the walls are connected with the four corner uprights Hi. The frame parts l5 and 16 may in effect constitute a channel, at each front corner, these two channels facing toward each other and providing vertical grooves or tracks for the upward and downward movements of certain parts of the collapsible gate. The various frame parts maybe permanently interconnected, as by spot welding, into a rigid car structure.

Across the top of the car, above each gateway,; is provided a lintel or fixed horizontal beam l'l.

This is shown as mounted by occasional'bolts Hi to the front drop wall l3 which supports the ceiling II; and for convenience the extreme end of the lintel may be extended into the gate-guiding grooves formed by the corner uprights or angle pieces 16, near the top of the car front. Thelintel or top cross beam I1 is shown as formed with guiding and limiting slots 54' near the left and 53 near the right ends of the lintel, laterally disposed.

Referring next to the operating control means, there is shown at a fixed position in the hoistway a control member or movable arm '20, or in this case two such arms in parallel relation, carrying at their extremities a contact piece, shoe or cam 19; and one of the arms being mounted on the switchv box 21, containing the necessary switch devices and circuit connections, usually operating :through relays, controlled by the swinging movements of the switch arm 20 to render operative or inoperative the electric or power-drive. Cooperating with the switch arm 20 and its carried contact piece I9 is a complementary contact piece or actuator 22, shown in the form of a roller adapted to engage the contact or cam l9, and being shiftably carried upon a shank or bar 23 mounted to slide rightwardly and leftwardly adjacent to the lintel ll. By the shifting movements of the shank. or slider 23, vas will be described the contact piece or roller 22 .is shifted either to clear the complementary contact or cam l9, when the gate is fully closed as in Fig. 1, or

to stand outwardly to the left, when .the gate is substantially or fully open, to cooperate with the contact or shoe [9 and thereby cause the swinging of the switch arm or controller 20 to discontinue the power drive. r

The shiftable carrier or slider bar 23 has shown attached to it an enlargement or collar 24, near the left side of the car, and this collar and the shank are shown pressed strongly leftward by a resilient means or spring 25, preferably a helical spring under compression surrounding the shank and at its righthand end engaging a fixed abutment 21. The shank may consist of a bar of square or circular cross section, with its left end having its bearing in an aperture formed in the fixed upright walls 13 and I4, and further to the right the bar conveniently sliding through the fixed hearing or abutment 2 shown as bolted to the front wall 13, Within the space above the car ceiling II. In using the relative terms of position or movement, left or right, leftward, rightward and the like, in specification and claims, this is a matter of description and not intended as a limitation.

Referring next to the collapsible gate 31 this takes its mounting and support upon the elevator car lintel l1, being there hung dependingly so that the collapsing or opening 6f the gate is ,by

upward'movement, a release of the" gate acting through gravity to expand it downwardly into closed position; this being a, safety feature shown in said prior application. The gate is indicated as being lowered or closed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, while in Figs. 5 and 6 it is in the process of being opened or raised, Figs. 4 and '7 showing the gate completely raised into open position and there latched.

In, general the gate structure is similar to that in said prior application, being composed of a pivoted series of linkage members, preferably of g the familiar lazy-tongs type, but vertically dising. an vicey sa posed, and this linkage assembly being adapted to distend or spread transversely apart with the longitudinal collapse of the gate during its open- Specifically the gate is shown constructed of a series of non-swingable but vertically movable horizontal or transverse gate bars 32, and a similar bottom bar 33 carrying an operating handle 34, together with a pivoted series of pairs of swin'gable crossed links 41 and 48 between such bars, the slotted lintel l1 constituting the topmost or fixed bar of the gate. The transverse bars 32 and 33 are guided in their up and down movements by the grooves or channels formed by the corner uprights it, while the bars themselves form slotted guides for the ends of thelinks, as will be further described. When the gate has been fully lifted and opened, as by means of the handle 34, it maybe there latched against the force of gravity, as inFig. 4, by means of a latch finger, 31 projecting rearwardly from oneor both ends of the bar 33, alongside of the. side wall l4, and each adapted to be latched or hooked into the notch of a latch lug 38 mounted on the wall; part 31 01138 being beveled, or 31 being inclined, to clear 38;

Extending between the several transverse bars I11, 32 and 33, are the pairs of crossed links, mutually pivoted, comprising front links 41 and back links48, centrally pivoted to each other in each panel at their crossing points by pivot pins 49. The lower ends of the links of each pair are pivoted to the upper ends of the links of the next lower pair by means of end pivots which also constitute pins, each extending through both links and rearwardly therefrom through guide slots 5| formed in the transverse'bars' 32 and 33;

while the uppermost front link 41 has a special pivot pin 53, extending through the to left end of this link and thence through a dummy pacing piece or washer52 and thence through a guiding slot .54 in the lintel, and thence rearwardly for connection as'by rigidmounting on the collar 24 which is fast upon the carrier shank or slider bar 23 that carries the actuator or roller through which thecontroller' 20 of the switch 2i is operated. Thus is afforded a simple or direct mechanical connection from the gate left side, or rather from a lefthand portion of the linkage assembly, ofthe'gate, preferably from the topmost lefthand. link-end 0r the'pivot pin 53 there of to the controlling elements including the actuator carried by the car to actuate th'ehswitch arm mounted 'inthe hoistway. The topmost rear link 48 carries at its upper right end apivot pin 55 which extends through and is guided by the horizontal slot 56 formed near the righthand end of the lintel l'l.

By thesep-ing-and s'lot mountings 5356 the linkage'assembly' 4T50 which characterizes the lazytongs kind of gate is mounted at or on the lintel with lateral or horizontal play such that, during upward mnapsgtne direction or disten- 'sion of the assembly, whether leftward or rightward, can be predetermined or regulated, and the same with the lateral contraction, or the sequence thereof, during gate closing. I

The various transverse slots 5|, 54 and 56 in which the pivots or pins 50, 53 and 55 have play are preferably slots of limited extent, especially in respect to the slots 54 and 56 in the lintel. The slots are so arranged that when the gate is fully closed the pins 53 and 55 come to rest at the inner ends of the slots, as in Fig. l, which causes the linkage assembly of the gate to take a central or symmetrical initial position, the righthand slot 55 specifically having its left end acting as a stop (e' Fig. 8) for the pin 55, the spring 25 pressing leftwardly and holding the pin yieldingly against the stop, With the crossing pivot 49 at the initial vertical axis or center line (:vr Fig. 8) of the gate. When the gate later has become fully open the pins rest at the outer ends of the slots, as in Fig. 7, and there the left pin 53 is in stopped position against the left end (6 Fig. 8) of the slot 54, with the pivot 49 again at the normal or initial center line, so that again the assembly 41-50 laterally assumes a symmetrical or central position. The reverse or closing movements are just the opposite of those described, and when the gate is fully closed the ends of its bottom bar 33 come to rest on a pair of bumpers or stops 35 shown as angles welded upon the side wall flanges l5.

Thus at the beginning and close of each complete opening or closing movement of the collapsible gate the gate linkage assembly takes a definite central position but, as will be more fully described in connection with Figs. 5 to '7, the symmetrical positioning of the gate linkage does not prevail during the actual shift between extreme positions. The linkage assembly instead is 'susceptible of a certain loose play leftwardly and rightwardly, and during this period is controlled by the operation of the strong spring 25, coacting with the slots or stops, and affording a particular and useful action which is made available by this invention for the more effective operation of the connections including the shiftable shank 23 and the actuator 22 thereon, for the more reliable operation of the power controller 20 and switch 2| in the hoistway. In these respects the present invention distinguishes from the arrangement shown in the prior application wherein are opposite positioning springs, working between a central abutment, and symmetrically opposite sliders to which the gate top links are pivoted, so that the gate is in a resiliently floating condition and the springs tend always to maintain the gate in a central position. In both cases the spring action has a tendency to spread apart the gate pivot pins and thereby to aid the distension of the gate linkage and its rising or collapsing movements, although insufiiciently strong to overcome gravity or to lift the gate without supplemental manual or other eifort.

The practical operation of the described gate apparatus may be substantially as follows, with reference to Figs. 1, 5, 6 and 7 and the diagram Fig. 8. Assuming that the gate is initially closed as in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it may be described, with reference to its linkage assembly, as longitudinally expanded downwardly but transversely shrunk, contracted or narrowed in its width determined by the lines of its link end pivots 50, 53 and 55. The crossing pivot 49 is initially on the normal or initial vertical center line :r-x, as

in'the diagram; the pins 53 and 55 areat or near the inner ends of slots 54 and 56, at a and a on the diagram; and the pins 50, 50' are at b and b near the inner ends of the slots 5| in the top crossbar 32. The parts are thus held initially by the pin 55 bearing resiliently against the stop e at the left end of slot 56 under the pressure of the sprin 25, and this centralizes the linkage system and positions the actuator 22 in its rightward or retracted inoperative position.

Upon opening the gate by lifting upon handle 34 or otherwise, the gate and its linkage assembly are longitudinally collapsed but the linkage is transversely distended, with a widening or spreading as between the left and right link end pivots 50, 53 and 55. In this opening movement the strong spring affords assistance, assuming part of the gravity weight of the gate by the fprevails only during the early part of the lift when its compression is greatest, which is while the inertia is being overcome and therefore when it is of greatest usefulness.

The opening lift of the gate and its linkage may be considered in two phases as regards the regulated direction of linkage distension leftwardly or rightwardly. During the first phase up to a transition level c--c' the bias created by the spring pressure acting on the linkage causes a general leftward tendency, so'that the top left pivot pin 53 shifts outwardly or leftwardly from a to d along the slot 54, while the righthand pin 55 remains held in its inner or lefthand position a due to the stop 6' opposing the spring. Therefore during this first phase the entire transverse distension of the gate linkage occurs at its lefthand side. When the gate has been lifted a short distance, for example about one-eighth way up, the parts come to the position shown in Fig. 5 wherein the pin 53 has reached about the middle of the slot 54; and as the lifting continues until the gate is about quarter opened the pin 53 reaches the left end or stop limit of the length of the slot 54, the parts coming to the transition position shown in Fig. 6. Here the rising lefthand pin 50 has reached the transition point e on the diagram, along the outwardly inclined arc 19-0, with center at a, while pin 53 has shifted horizontally from point a to point d corresponding to stop e of the lefthand lintel slot. The crossing pivot 49 has swung up and leftward, from its initial position 1 on the initial vertical gate linkage axis 11-1: to the transition position ,1 on the transition axis yy, along the arc f-g similar to arc bc but of half its dimension. The righthand pin 50' has risen vertically to transition point 0' along path b'c'; while pin 55 has remained unmoved, in contact against stop e due to the pressure of spring 25.

In partial review, the linkage top pins 53 and 55 cooperating with their stops e and e and the resilient or spring means 25 constitute a provision or means affording a predetermined linkage regulation whereby, during the early first phase of gate opening rise and collapse, it is adapted to cause the lateral distension of the linkage assembly to take place substantially wholly leftwardly for emphatic early movement of the actuator to cut off the operating power during such first phase of the opening; with other actions during the second phase and return or closing movements as will be described,

By this special action, wherein during the first phase the gate linkage is in effect displaced bod- 7 'ily 'leftwardly, .its :vertical :center jlinesbeing so :displace'd,:the" outward throw of the actuator cor roller;22 is in effect more thandoubled in both 'spee'diiand distance. i The spreading or lateral distension of:the.gate linkage which. in thenprior 5 appiication is apportioned equally toward .left i .and right is herein concentrated leftward; giving a throw of the:left side of s the gate linkage, and of the actuator, which is the'sumof .the half- ;distension and'the extentof bodily shift, which two factors may .or may not be equal. The cooperationof the spring, underrestraint of-stops e. and c, with the'leftwardly shiftable gate link- :age constitutes-means operative during the early .part of-the-opening lift .of the gate for thrusting effectively leftwardly the gate linkage, giving the .actuator that much throw in addition to thehalf of the-e-Xtentof distension of .the widthof the gate linkage. In itheillustrated case the total leftward'throw equals the entire amount,'rather "than half thereof, of .the gate linkage spreading .or distension duringits partial closing to the transition point.

Thus the controlling .movement of the carrier .bar 2'3 and actuator 22 is greatly accentuated .and expedited andtherefore rendered more ;sen sitive. and responsive. A more reliable control .over-thepower drive is afforded, so much so that a condition whereinthe .gate remains only slight- .ly open issufficient to cause thethrowing. off of thepower, preventingoperation of the car. In .this first phase allof the transverse movement of the gate linkage'is at the left or control side, Figs.' 5. and 6 showing that at the right side the pivot pin 55 has not shifted in the lintel slotfit, nor..moved from Jitsstope', and the right side vandlink pivots .of the gate. linkage have not shift- .ed transversely.

.To take a specific case, if the .actuator is to shift outwardly say 2 inches, at the left side as shown, thisdistance corresponds to a-d on the diagram, Ifithe actuator initially clears the con- .trollerarm 129, or rather its contact shoe H], by about /2 inch, that much of the shift is used taking up .the clearance. .The next inch may be used in swinging the controllerm enough to reverse the switch itself and so break the power connection; and the remaining inch may be idle .movement while improving assurance'of switch reversal. Therefore the first half of the .shift from a to 11 brings about thecut-off ofpower,"

terior switch in well known ways-to respond to .a relatively .shortenedextent -.of control move- .ment.

.As the described ,gateopening movement has continued. we have inFig. i6 arrived atthe transition leve1.c--c' of Fig. 8 that the leftward distensioncauses, which may be in the neighborhood .of one quarter of the complete gate opening, namely, by the pin 53 reaching the stop eat the end of the slot 5 and the entire gate linkage I being then unsymmetrically displaced toward the .left as .seenin Fig. .6,.with displacement of its vertical center line from .r-a: .to y 1 Fig.8-

From this point onward the continued lift is in the second phaseof the action, and theremaimng action is preferably. as follows, resulting in restoring thegate :rightwardly .into- .-a :symmetrical final position. The further distension or transverse widening of the g-ate-linkagethen causestherighthandpivot pin-55w slide along :outwardly or to the right in the lintel .slot 56.

This is due'to leftward distension being stopped by contact of pin :53 on stop 6. .During this, phase the pin 55 travels from the position shown .-in --Fig..6'to itsfullzoutward position shownin Fig. 7, which is reached as the gate becomes fully opened and collapsed. The gate linkage, having taken an unsymmetrical position from the starting of its opening movement hasrnow again attained a symmetrical position, at the .end of its complete longitudinal collapse and transverse distension, the ,pins .53 and 55. occupying the .outerends of path..c--dto point d. The rightpin 55 has moved rightwardlyfrompgint a to d. The rightpin .hastraveled the upward arc path c'd', with .its arc centerat d.

The crossing pivot E9 has risenfrom g to h along the ar.c-path.,gh, thus shiftingrightward from axis 'yy to r-x.

The operative movement of the actuator '22 therefore occurs wholly within the firstphaseof the gate opening movement, and it remainsin its most outward position during the second phase. In the return movement, when the gate is'being closed, the same advantageous conditions prevail, the actuator remaining'in its outward position during the first descending shift in the lowering-of the gate, and only then'commences to retract, by movements 'which'will'be understoodbytaking the figures in their reverse order,

.namely, Fig. 7 and then.Fig. .6 andthen Fig. 5, the full retraction of the actuator not occurring until'the complete closing of the gate as shown in Fig. 1; andthe power drive'remaining off until late in'the descending movement, when thegate is nearly closed; all just thereverseof the opening action.

Regarding'the'springeopposing stops 2 and 6',

these are each atthe left end of'its slot 54 or 56, the other ends of the slotsbeing'without'function and'the "slots being extended'right'wardly to a convenient'distance to ensure ample room for "play. The stop e at the left end of the right slot .56 may be considered the 'firstphase stop, taking the spring pressure between-full closed and transitionpositions,whileithe stop e..in .slot '54 isthesecond-phase stop, taking the spring pres- ..sure'from the .transitionto thefullopen position.

The use of the leftslot endsasstops is convenient, but either of the pins .53 and L55-could'be stopped otherwise, forexample astothe stop c this could well .be .ajlug .or shoulder on the carrier bar .23

.lQcated-toabut against the wall 'l3, M or other fixed part when the gate rise :reaches transition of stopeinslotfifl; and Fig. 3.shows-this manner -,of stoppage by collarf-ace .58 meeting wall 13 as ,pin.53 .meets the-left end: of .slot" 54.

Thedescribed cooperation of the stopsreande' and: spring 2 5; is to give the bodily i'shiftablea gate Jinkage a leftward shift during the aearlygpart of .its .closingelift.:thusquicklytoicut .off drive power,

.9 withi'preferably a rightwardcountershift there after; this motion being well represented by the path.f-g-h of the top crossing pivot 49 in the Fig. 8 diagram. A similar action can'be other- Wise brought about .as by other mechanical elements cooperating with the crank linkage, such as toggles, gearing, wedges or cams, an example of the last-mentioned being shown in Fig- 9, wherein the crossing pivot 49 is extended as a pin or follower into the slot or groove fg+-h of a cam 60 mounted near the central upper part of the gateway. If the spring 25 or equivalent is retained the cam could be open at its righthand side, but is shown as a closed cam, giving posia tive control of .the movements of the pin 49' and therefore of the bodilyleftward and rightward movements of the gate linkage during its opening and closing. The cam shape is shown as approximately similar to the pivot path f-g-h in the diagram Fig. 8; but in Fig. 9 the shape is somewhat idealized and can be given any desired contour, so as to bring about the discontinuance of power as early as desired during the lifting of the gate, and the restoration of power as late as desired during the closing of the gate. The use of cooperating stops and a resilient bias means or spring however is preferred as usually simpler, cheaper and more reliable. In each embodiment the linkage-type gate shifts upwardly for closing and vice versa, and has means for causing the horizontal bodily displacement of its linkage synchronously with its opening and closing, and means whereby such displacement causes :the

drive to be rendered inoperative or operative. The cam 60 thus is an alternative means operative during distension to ;take place substantially wholly leftwardly for early movement of the actuator to cut off the operating power during such first phase of gate opening.

There has thus been described an illustrative elevator system with car gate and power control features embodying the present invention; but

sincevarious matters of combination, arrange-;

ment and constructionmay be varied within the essence of the invention it is not intended to limit the same to such matters except so far as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a power-driven elevator system wherein is a car traveling in a hoistway, a collapsible car gate of the lazytongs kind comprising a linkage assembly of crossed and mutually pivoted swinging links hung from the car gateway lintel whereby the gate is collapsible upwardly for opening and said linkage assembly undergoes lateral distension during upward collapse, and vice versa; and a movable actuator arranged to actuate a switch controlling the power operation of the car, and connections from a lefthand portion of the linkage assembly to said actuator whereby such lateral distension of the linkage assembly during gate opening causes actuator movement and switch operation to render inoperative the power drive and vice versa; and characterized in that the linkage assembly is mounted on the lintel with lateral horizontal play such that during gate opening the direction of linkage lateral distension, can be predetermined, and further in that means is provided operative during the early first phase of the opening rise and collapse of the gate adapted to cause the linkage distension to take place substantially wholly leftwardly for early movement of the actuator to cut off the operating power during such first phase of gate opening.

2. An elevator system as in claim 1 and wherein 10 the power-controlling switch is mounted at the left side of the hoistway and has a shiftable cutofi arm, and the leftward distension of the linkage assembly actsto thrust leftwardly the actuator to protrudefrom the car in position to shift said arm of the switch and thereby cut off power.

3. An elevator system as in claim 1 and wherein the connections from the linkage assembly to the said actuator extend from the topmost lefthand link-end to the actuator.

4. An elevator system as in claim 1 and wherein the connections from the linkage assembly to the actuator include a horizontal slidebar carrying the actuator and extend from the topmost lefthand link-end of the assembly to said slidebar and actuator.

5. An elevator system as in claim 1 and wherein the gate mounting is by transverse guiding slots near the lintel ends in which slots play the top pivot pins of the links of the topmost panel.

6. An elevator system as in claim 1 and wherein the gate mounting is by transverse guiding slots near the lintel ends in which slots play the top pivot pins of the links of the topmost panel; and the aforesaid means causing early leftward distension during the opening rise and distension of the gate consists of stop means comprising a firstphase stop establishing the initial linkage lateral position and a second phase stop establishing the final position, with spring means thrusting the linkage toward such stops.

'7. An elevator system as in claim 1 and wherein the aforesaid means causing early leftward distension during the opening rise and distension 'of the gate is further operative beyond a transition position during a second phase to cause rightward distension of the linkage.

8. An elevator system as in claim 1 and wherein the aforesaid means causing early leftward dis-I tension during the opening rise and distension of the gate is further operative beyond a transi;-. tion position during a second phase to cause right ward distension of the linkage; and during returnclosing movements causes actions in reverse order whereby the power is not reconnected until the gate is substantially closed.

9. In a power-driven elevator system wherein is a car traveling in a hoistway, a collapsible car gate of lazytongs kind comprising a linkage assembly of crossed and mutually pivoted swinging links hung from the car gateway lintel whereby the gate is collapsible upwardly for opening and said linkage assembly undergoes horizontal distension during upward collapse, and vice versa; and a movable actuator arranged to actuate a switch controlling the power operation of the car, and a connection from the topmost lefthand link-end of the linkage assembly to said actuator whereby such distension of the linkage assembly during gate opening causes actuator movement andswitch operation to render inoperative the power drive and vice versa; and characterized in that the linkage assembly is mounted on the lintel with horizontal play such that during opening the direction of linkage distension, leftward or rightward, can be predetermined, a spring arranged to thrust yleldingly leftwardly the linkage assembly and connected actuator, a first stop operating during the early first phase of opening rise to prevent leftward movement of the topmost right-hand link-end whereby the linkage distension takes place leftwardly only for early cut-off of power, and a second stop limitingthe leftward movement of the actuator during the second opening phase whereby distension takes place gazetteer rightwardly ithrough such second. phase; with.

actions in reverse? order duringegateclosing;

a 110;, In; a; powersdrivenpelevator: system ofthe kindzdescribed; a car gategoi thet ivotedi linkage or lazyitongs type. mounted; on: the=-linteli and collapsible upwardly-and expansible downwardly for opening: and: closing respectively:- the gate, suchymounting oi-the gate upon thellintel permitting. lateral distensicnzand' contraction actions of the gate linkage duringgateopehingand-clos ing; in combination with-*meansoperable for causing; suchlateral linkage actions and thus pre'determini'ng the direction of lateral distension of'the linkage synchronously with thegate openingand vice versatsaid directionv-predetermining means tending to hold the linkage against lateral di'stensionatafirst side t'hereby causing linkage distjensionto ta'ke tplace at the: other or second side, and operativefrneans whereby such lateral distension of; the gatelinkage at: the second side causes thezpower? drive of the-canto be rendered inoperative when thegate is opened.

11.. The=carr gateiasz-in claim and wherein said directionepredetermining means includes not :only saidi'firstiholdingfmeansg tending to hold thezlinkage: against: lateral-distension atthe first" side;. for; therebycausing: thea distension to occur at the. second side duringtthe initial opening actiom but; a" second: holding means; acting to.

limit' the; lateral distension; at the second side,

for thereby causing the: further distension to' occur at the firstside;

12. The'cargate as inclaim 10 andiwherein said" direction-predetermining: means includes not: only saidilinkagerholdingmeans, comprising holds thefirst side of the linkagethereby-to hold? the :linkage against "lateral distension: at the first" side; i; whereby to: cause-thewdistension to occur at the: second, --side1- during the, initial; gate opening" action-,- but -;also aseconddinkagie holding means;-

comprisingrsa stops at thesecond: side: against which the spring pressurelholds the-second side ofi the linkagefthereby' to limit the: lateral: distension. at the secondfsidegwhereby to cause the'furthen distension to occur at the first side: during the further opening of I the gate 13; In. a power-driven elevator" system. of the kind described, a: car gate comprising a pivoted linkage mounted on. the lintel'and collapsible upwardly for opening: it and vice versa, such mounting of thellin'kage upon the 'lintel' permitting-lateral distension of the link'age during opening,-in combination with-control means operable for causingsuch'lateral distension from a first side toward the second side andthen back toward the first side during-the gate opening, means to control the power'operation ofthe car, and means whereby such lateral distensionof the gate linkage to said second side causes thepower control means to render inoperative the; drive of the car when'thegate is opened. 7 Y

14. An elevator system as in claim 13 and wherein said distension-controlling' means comprises stops at the first and second sides respectively each to restrain shift ofits linkage side toward thesec'ond side, and yieldable means cooperative with said first side stop tohold the linkage with its vertical axis at an initial position when; the gate is closed; the" said stops and said yieldab'lemeans constituting a cooperative mechanism causing linkage distension during gate" opening first toward the second side and later toward thefirst side whereby the linkage vertical axis is" brought back; substantially to initial'position'during the later portion of such opening:

IE-ROY'H: KIESLINGL REFERENCES "CITED" The follgwingyreierences are of record in the fileofthis patent:

UNIT D STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,411,882 Kiesling ..sun.Dec: 3, 1946'

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