Releasable catch apparatus for a cableway load carrier

Claim 1

A RELEASABLE LATCH APPARATUS FOR A CABLEWAY LOAD CARRIER HAVING A CARRIAGE MOVABLE ON A CABLEWAY AND A LOAD LINE MOVABLY DEPENDING THEREFROM COMPRISING, A PAIR OF ELONGATED LATCH MEMBERS, HAVING UPPER AND LOWER ENDS, PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE CARRIAGE ON AXES INTERMEDIATE THEIR ENDS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT IN A VERTICAL PLANE AND SPACED APART TO PERMIT THE PASSAGE OF A LOAD LINE THEREBETWEEN, SAID MEMBERS HAVING CONCAVE OPPOSING FACES FORMING A RECESS THEREBETWEEN AND HAVING THEIR LOWER ENDS FORMED AS DOWNWARDLY DIVERGING CAM SURFACES, STOPS ON THE CARRIAGE ARRANGED IN THE PATH OF THE LATCH MEMBERS TO LIMIT PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF THE LATTER BETWEEN A LATCH POSITION IN WHICH THE UPPER ENDS ARE SPACED APART IN RELATIVELY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE LOAD LINE AND AN OPEN POSITION IN WHICH SAID UPPER ENDS ARE MOVED APART NO MOVE THE LOWER ENDS TOWARDS EACH OTHE TO A POSITION IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE LOAD LINE ON EACH SIDE THEREOF, RESTRAINING MEANS TO RELEASABLY ENGAGE THE LATCH MEMBERS WHEN THEY ARE MOVED TO EACH POSITION TO SECURE THE LATTER AGAINST ACCIDENTIAL MOVEMENT FOR SAID POSITIONS, A CATCH BLOCK PRESENTING A CAM-LIKE SHOULDER AS ITS UPPER SURFACE CONNECTED TO THE CABLE FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT THEREWITH, SAID CATCH BLOCK BEING ADAPTED TO PASS FREELY DOWNWARDLY BETWEEN THE LATCH MEMBERS WHEN THE LATTER ARE IN THEIR OPEN POSITION, THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID MEMBERS LYING THE PATH OF THE CATCH BLOCK WHEN SAID MEMBERS ARE IN THEIR LATCH POSITION, A STOP FIXEDLY SECURED TO THE LOAD LINE FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH AND SPACED DOWNWARDLY THEREON FROM THE CATCH BLOCK, AN OPERATOR, HAVING CAM-LIKE UPPER AND LOWER SURFACES, SLIDABLY CONNECTED TO THAT PORTION OF THE LOAD LINE BETWEEN THE LATTER, WHEREBY UPON UPWARD TICAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE LATTER, WHEREBY UPON UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE LINE TO PASS THE CATCH BLOCK ABOVE THE UPPER ENDS OF THE LATCH MEMBERS, THE STOP WILL MOVE THE OPERATOR AGAINST THE CAM SURFACES AT THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID LATCH MEMBERS TO PIVOTALLY MOVE THE MEMBERS INTO A LATCH POSITION BELOW THE CATCH BLOCK, SAID OPEATOR BEING ADAPTED, UPON FURTHER UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE LINE TO PASS THROUGH SAID LOWER ENDS AND BEAR UPWARDLY AGAINST THE UPPER ENDS OF THE LATCH MEMBERS TO PIVOTALLY MOVE SAME INTO THEIR OPEN POSITON, SAID RESTRAINING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO RETAIN THE LATCH MEMBERS IN THE LATTER POSITION AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE OPEATOR WHEN THE LOAD LINE IS LOWERED, TO PERMIT THE CATCH BLOCK TO PASS DOWNWARDLY THROUGH THE OPEN UPPER ENDS OF THE LATCH MEMBERS INTO THE RECESS AND BEAR AGAINST THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE OPERATOR TO THEREBY PIVOTALLY MOVE THE LATCH MEMBERS AGAINST THE ACTION OF THE RESTRAINING MEANS INTO THEIR OPEN POSITION TO PERMIT THE OPERATOR% AND CATCH BLOCK TO PASS DOWNWARDLY THERETHROUGH.