吊桥的安全门。

吊桥的安全门。

A gate to all intents and purposes, and practically and thoroughly automatic, is Hoeffler & Chapman’s improvement in safety gates for drawbridges, as shown in the accompanying illustrations. The inventors, in writing to FIRE AND WATER relative to the gate, say: Our invention relates to safety gates for drawbridges, and its object is to render such gates automatic in their operation and efficient and reliable in action. To this end we arrange at each side of the street or roadway and near the edge of the quay or pier an upright drum or shaft on which is wound a flexible gate. The end of the pivoted or swing bridge is provided with appliances for engaging with these gates, and drawing one or the other of them across the roadway when the draw is opened. The gate is locked in this position, but is automatically released and wound up when the draw is closed again. Our improvements render it immaterial whether the draw be swung one way or the other, nor is it necessary to close the draw in the reverse direction of opening it, since it may be swung completely around without interfering with the automatic operation of our gates.

In the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one end of a drawbridge and the adjacent quay provided with our improved gales. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one of the gatehouses partly in section. Fig. 3 is an elevation of one of said houses and its weight well. Our improvements are applicable to one or both ends of a horizontally swinging bridge. They may be used where the biidge swings always in the same direction, or indifferently in eithtr direction. In the former case, only one gate is needed ; in the flatter, two gates are required. Hoefller & Chapman are at Stevens Point, Wis.