AU673909B2 - Remote control gate - Google Patents

Description

43066 GEH:KL.

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: TARANTO (1980) PTY LTD SActual Inventor: S*COLLISON C.,117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 500 Invention Title: REMOTE CONTROL GATE Details of Associated Provisional Applications: Application No PL8789 dated 14th May 1993 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 2 This invention relates to a remote control gate, more particularly to a gate which can be used on rural properties.

On rural properties where the property is divided into various areas or paddocks, access from one area to the other must be through gates which, in order to prevent the passage of stock from one area to another, must be opened and closed each time a vehicle, implement or stock or animals have 1 0 to pass through the gate. Thus where one has to pass regularly through a gate, it is inconvenient to have to stop the vehicle, get out of the vehicle, open the gate, return to the vehicle to drive the vehicle through the gate, and then to again alight from the vehicle, close the gate and ther, return to the vehicle to continue the journey.

Various forms of gate opening devices have been attempted, these often relying on the vehicle passing over some form of pressure device to open and close the gate, or some other form of triggering mechanism. However for various reasons not all of these have been successful.

Gate operating mechanisms must be robust to operate in all weather conditions, and withstand not only wet and muddy conditions but also sand and dust from dust storms. Also they must withstand the passage of stock, for S example cattle rushing and pushing not only through the gateway but also on the fence adjacent the gate.

It is an object of this invention to provide a gate opening mechanism which is robust in construction and which opens to fully clear the gateway.

3 0 It is a further object of the invention to open the gate by moving the gate vertically in such a way that the gate does not obstruct the gate opening.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a gate in which the gate is electrically operated and operates on solar power.

~_IC1 BRIEF TATEMENT OF THE INVENTION Thus there is provided according to the invention a gate operating mechanism for opening and closing a gate extending across a gateway when in the closed position of the gate, said gate opening mechanism including a gate frame positioned on one side of the gateway and supporting said gate at one end of said gate, said gate operating mechanism having means to lift said gate at said one end by pivoting said gate about an axle on said frame parallel to the gateway, and pivoting means to pivot the gate about a pivot shaft extending at right angles to the said axle ani in the plane of the gate whereby in the open position the gate does not extend across the gateway but lies paral!el to the gateway.

It is a further feature of the gate that when the gate is raised, it then turns degrees so that it does not encroach on the gateway to thus allow easy access through the gateway.

20 In a further feature of the invention the gate is pivoted on a horizontal hinge pin, an arm connected to the gate, the arm extending away from the gate opening, power means for moving the outer end of the arm downwardly to thus raise the gate, and counterbalancing the weight of the gate.

Further the gate is connected to the arm by a further pivot so that when the gate is raised a camming member on the gate contacts a fixed member to thus cause the gate to swing about the further pivot to thus clear the gateway.

S" BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.

in order to more fully describe the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:- FIG 1 is a perspective view of the gate in the closed position; FIG 2 is a partial view of the gate operating mechanism with the gate in Sthe closed position, the gate being partially shown; -I -L 4 FIG 3 is a partial view of the gate operating n e chanism with the gate in the open position, the gate being partially shown; FIG 4 is a partial plan view of the mechanism for pivoting the gate on raising with the gate in the closed position; FIG 5 is a view similar to FIG 4 with the gate partially open prior to 1 0 pivoting the gate; FIG 6 is a view similar to FIG 5 with the gate pivoted so that it is parallel to the gateway; 1 5 FIG 7 is a view of the restraining post, and FIG 8 illustrates the solar panel.

.4.4aa DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Throughout the specification the term "oateway" is intended to mean the access opening through the fence.

i: As shown in the drawings the gate is attached to a gate frame 2 by a hinge 3 in bearings 3a, an arm 4 also being attached to the gate. To the gate end of the arm 4 there is attached a pivot shaft 5, the gate being pivoted on this pivot shaft by a sleeve 6 so that in the position shown in Figure 1 the gate hangs from the shaft 5. In Figures 2 and 3, the gate itself is not fully shown.

3 0 The arm 4 is formed with an elbow portion 25 and at the outer end of the elbow portion there is attached an electric motor and gear box 7 driving a chain wheel 8. The chain wheel 8 engages a chain 9 anchored at its lower end to a lock assembly 10 at the lower end of the gate frame 2, the chain at its other end being anchored to one end of a spring 11 attached at its other c,-ri 3 5 to an anchor 12 attached to the upper end of the gate frame 2.

I A counterbalance is provided for the weight of the gate, and this comprises one or more gas struts 13 anchored at the upper end to a member 14, the piston rod or rods being attached to a member 15 in a bearing 16 attached to the elbow portion of the arm 4.

Turning now to Figures 4 and 5, there is shown the mechanism for turning the 1 0 sate when it is being raised to the open position so that the plane of the gate is parallel to the gateway thus ensuring that the gate does not obstruct the gateway allowing passage of high vehicles and high machinery through the gateway.

;To the sleeve 6 there is attached a camming plate 17 extending in a curvec manner away from the axis of the sleeve 6. When the gate is raised a roller 18 :o mounted on an angle bracket 19 fixed to the plate 20 on the gate frare will contact the camming plate. On continued movement of the gate the roller will roll along the camming plate and in so doing rotate the sleeve and thus rotate the gate 90 degrees about the pivot shaft 5. It will be seen that the camming member extends away from the sleeve 6 and the roller 18 is offset from the axis of the sleeve so that on the camming member contacting the roller a force is applied to the camming member to rotate the gate through 90 degrees.

2 5 Thus to open the gate the electric motor drives the chain wheel so that the arm is lowered thus raising the gate and when the gate is approaching its raised position, the gate is rotated through 90 degrees. To lower the gate the electric motor is reversed and the gate, by being pivoted on the pivot shaft 5, will by its own weight, as the camming plate moves away from the roller, return to its vertical position.

During the opening and closing of the gate, the weight of the gate is counterbalanced by one or more gas struts, depending on the size and weight of the installed gate. When the gate is lowered into the lowered position, the 3 5 outer end of the gate is preferably located in a restraining post 22 II

I

6 to thus hold and locate the gate against any lateral movement. In the embodiment shown this restraining post can comprise two upright members, the upper end of each being splayed to form a Y shaped opening to receive the end portion of the gate.

The electric motor is controlled by a switch. This can be a switch allowing use by -v person desiring to pass through the gate. However to provide security ar, ,ter unauthorised access through the gate, the switch can be a key operated switch, or be activated by a remote controller carried by the person authorised to use the gate.

The lock assembly 10 is operative to prevent the gate being opened manually 1 5 by lifting the outer end of the gate. When the gate is in its closed position a locking bar 21 attached to the lower inner end of the gate extends into the lock assembly and is engaged by a locking pin to which the end of the chain is attached. The pin is spring loaded to the closed position and when the gate is to be opened, the initial movement of the chain will pull the chain upwardly so 2 0 extracting the pin from the locking bar, the pin engaging a stop, and the continued movement of the chain wheel will then raise the gate. When the gate is lowered to the closed position the locking pin will automatically engage the locking bar.

It is to be noted that the gate frame will be enclosed in a weatherproof and preferably lockable enclosure and so the locking mechanism will not be readily accessible by any unauthorised person. Thus the gate is locked S:against unauthorised entry. In an alternate arrangement, the gate can be locked by the provision of a solenoid to actuate the locking pin.

As noted above the gate is operated by an electric motor, and in a preferred from the electrical supply can be by a 12 volt battery. In order to keep the battery charged, there can be incorporated a small solar panel 23 mounted on an assembly 24 attached to a pole 25 which wculd then provide a trickle charge to the battery. On tests on a 3 metre gate the 12 volt battery drew only I- 3 amps for the 15 seconds required to open the gate and 1.5 F when lowering the gate. Thus a small solar panel can easily provic' .e necessary power to keep the battery charged. However where this is oti:er power supply, such as a 240 volt supply, this may be used instead of the battery and solar power supply. Thus the gate is ideally suited for use anywhere on a property, even in remote areas without there being required any mechanism to produce the opening force, such as the weight of a vehicle.

It will be realised that by the invention only a small amount of power is required to raise and lower the gate. Only a small electric motor is required, due to the gear reduction through the gear box, and the sprocket being positioned on the end of the arm, thus providing a leverage which assists in 1 5 reducing the force required to raise the gate.

While there is above described one way of rotating the gate through :ooo degrees while the gate is being opened, it is to be realised that other methods of rotating the gate can be used. This can be achieved by a lever and crank 20 mechanism acting between the rotatable sleeve and the gate frame. A suitable lost motion linkage can be incorporated to ensure that the gate does i lilnot begin pivoting before the gate has cleared the restraining post on the 0*e* outer end of the gate.

Also the gate could be raised and lowered by other means such as a crank and lever mechanism. However such a system may necessitate a more *..*powerful motor and where there is a permanent power supply It will be realised that the gate can be operated by a remote control from an 3 0 approaching vehicle thus giving security and also closed after the vehicle has passed there through. Alternately the gate can be operated by a key switch for security reasons, or if no security is required, the gate can be operated by manually operated two way switches positioned on both sides of the gate.

By pivoting the gate vertically about a horizontal axis, and then turning it through 90 degrees, it is seen that the gateway is not obstructed at all, so allowing the passage of large land implements, and also high road vehicles, such as vehicles carrying stock crates, and bulk grain vehicles.

Although various forms of the invention have been described in some detail, it 1 0 is to be realised that the invention is not to be limited thereto, but can include variations and modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

we 'e-06 o o o o .555.5 S p g S S *I

Claims (7)

1. A gate opening mechanism for opening and closing a gate extending across a gateway when in the closed position of the gate, said gate opening mechanism including a gate frame positioned on one side of the gateway and supporting said gate at one end of said gate, said gate operating mechanism having means to lift said gate at said one end by pivoting said gate about an 1 0 axle on said frame parallel to the gateway, and pivoting means to pivot the gate about a pivot shaft extending at right angles to the said axle and in the plane ot the gate whereby in the open position the gate does not extend across the gateway but lies parallel to the gateway. 1 5

2. A gate opening mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein the mechanism includes an arm extending from the axle away from the gate and drive means for lowering and raising the arm, said pivot shaft attached to the axle and extending toward the gate, said gate having a sleeve rotatable on io the pivot shaft so that the gate is supported by being suspended from the pivot shaft. o 3. A gate opening mechanism as defined in claim 1 and including a roller i member attached to the gate frame, said roller member extending toward the gate, and positioned on the gate frame offset from the axis of said pivot shaft, said pivoting means including a camming ,member on said sleeve extending from said sleeve so that when the gate is raised the camming member engages the roller and continued movement of the gate causes the camming member to pivot the gate to a position parallel to the gateway.

3 0

4. A gate opening mechanism as defined in claim 2 or claim 3 and including a drive sprocket at the end of the arm, drive means for driving the sprocket, said sprocket engaging a chain attached at one to the upper portion of the gate frame and at the other end to a lower portion of the gate frame, a spring positioned between the chain and the gate frame whereby operation of 3 5 the drive means causes the sprocket to traverse the chain thus raising or lowering the gate.

A gate opring mechanism as defined in claim 4 wherein the lower end of the chain is connected to a loclking mechanism, said locking mechanism comprising a locking pin to engage a locking bar on the lower inner end of the gate so that when the gate is closed the locking pin engages the locking bar, whereby the gate is unlocked on the initial movement of the drive sprocket further tensioning the chain to withdraw the locking pin.

6. A gate opening mechanism as defined in either of claim 4 or 5, wherein the drive means comprises an electric motor driving a gear reduction mechanism connected to the sprocket. S1 5

7. A gate opening mechanism as defined in claim 6, wherein the electric motor is battery driven, said battery being charged by a solar panel. ooo *9*9Sg S8. A gate opening mechanism as defined in claim 7, wherein the electric motor is initiated by either a remote control signal, a key switch or a manual 20 switch. :i 9. A gate opening mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described S9 with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. *fe 25 Dated this 3rd day of October 1996 TARANTO (1980) PTY LTD By their Patent Attorneys COLLISON CO. ABSTRACT A gate opening mechanism mounted on one side of the gate opening. The gate is mounted on a horizontal axle parallel to the gate opening and lift means are provided to lift the gate about the axle. Also the gate is pivoted to a pivot arm mounted on the axle so that as the gate is lifted the gate pivots about the pivot arm so that in the open position the plane of the gate is parallel to the gate opening. i 00**0* 00 6oa *e