Untitled record

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AM. PHOTO-LITHO. CO. N.Y (OSBORNE'S PROCESS.) r

patent

SAMUEL E. JAMES, OF SMITHFIELD STATION POST OFFICE, OHIO.

Letters Patent No. 62,136, dated February 19, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT. IN GATE FASTENING.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, Samuel E. James, of Smithfield Station Post Office, Mahoning county,-State of Ohio, have invented a new and improved Fastening for Gates: and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which—

Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of a gate having my improved fastening applied to it.

Figure 2 is a cross-section through the gate taken in the vertical plane indicated by red line x x, fig. 1, showing a sagging gate in the act of being closed.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the gate.when.it is closed and fastened. .

Figure 4 shows the fastening which is applied to the gate post/

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The object of this invention is to obviate the inconvenience and labor of fastening and unfastening sagging gates, by the employment of a rolling support which shall lift the gate in the act of closing it, and which shall serve, in conjunction with a pawl and a stop, as a self-fastening, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art. to understand my invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents an ordinary swinging gate, which may be constructed and hinged in any suitable manner. B B' are the gate posts. B is tho post ίδ which the gate is hinged, and by which it is supported when open, and B' is the post to which the gate is fastened and by which it is supported at one end when closed. C represents.a circular toothed wheel, which is applied to the inner face of the gate post B' at a suitable point to support the gate A in .a horizontal position, when closed, upon its highest point. This toothed wheel is centrally pivoted to the gate post by a strong pin, a, so that it will turn freely, and it js prevented from turning in one direction by a gravitating pawl, b, which is constructed with a short handle or projection, b', by which a person can raise the nose of the pawl from the toothed wheel when it is desired to open the gate. I secure a latch, c, to the gate picket, so as to project a suitable distance from the same to press upon the teeth of the wheel C when the gate is closed. This latch, c, is a rounded pin, which is secured rigidly to the gate A in such a- position that when the gate is closed and this pin, c, is supported upon the highest part of the wheel C, between the teeth thereof, as shown in figs. 1, 3, and 4,. the gate A will he held in a horizontal position, Tho gate A is prevented from rising too'high, or from being casually lifted too high, when it is closed, by means of a block, d, which is secured to the post B' directly above the wheel C, as shown in fig. 4. This block d is designed to prevent the pin c from being forced out of its place on the wheel Cj by pressing against the gate when it is fastened by pawl b. When the gate is brought to a position for being fastened it will be arrested,by the pin y, which projects from the post B' near its base, as shown in fig. 3.

It will be seen from the above description that when the gate is closed the pin c will first enter a space between two of the teeth of the wheel C, and move this wheel until the pin c is brought to a position which is directly above the axis of said wheel, when the pawl J will drop between the teeth of the wheel, and thus lock and prevent it from turning backward. To release the gate again the pawl b must be raised free from its teeth and ¹ the gate pressed open. When the gate sags the pin e will engage the teeth of the wheel at a lower point, and.

j as the gate is closed the wheel will turn and gradually lift the gate to a horizontal position before the pawl b and pin g stop it. .

I do not confine my invention to the pawl for locking the wheel C, as other devices may be employed which· will operate in a similar manner and effect the same result.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to