Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02448349 2012-07-06
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Application No .:2448349
DESCRIPTION
TITLE: GATE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a bi-directional gate having mechanically actuated
opening
means, passive closing and locking means, manual override capability of said
opening and
closing means, and adjustable means for controlling gate opening and closing
velocity and
fixed gate opening range.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Ordinary gates for use in agricultural and other settings require manual
opening and
closing or rely on electrical or other remote-controlled means that require a
power source
for opening and closing. Ordinary manually operated gates require a person to
unfasten
and re-fasten the gate. Remote-controlled gates require a power source and a
triggering
means, typically in the form of a hand-held unit.
Both of these traditional gates present difficulties and inconvenience to gate
users,
particularly in the agricultural setting. For example, in an agricultural
setting, a farmer
driving a farm vehicle may find it difficult or inconvenient to repeatedly
park the vehicle, exit
the vehicle, open 'the gate, re-enter the vehicle, drive through the opened
gate, and then
exit the vehicle to close the gate to cross into another field. These
inconveniences are
compounded when the farmer gets older and has more physical difficulty getting
up into
and down out of his tractor, especially if the tractor sits very high off the
ground, or in
adverse weather conditions or if animals are kept in the fenced area that the
gate encloses,
due to the time the process of gate opening and closing takes and the
potential for animals
to get through the gate.
With respect to remote-controlled gates, these are expensive to install and
repair,
prohibitively so in the farming context where numerous gates are often
required for
livestock. It is inconvenient to have to keep track of one or several remote
units in an
agricultural vehicle, keep the remote unit clean, prevent the remote unit from
being
damaged and keep the remote unit charged, in order to activate a gate
remotely. Remote-
controlled gates may not function optimally or at all in harsh weather
conditions.
Additionally, with remote controlled gates, it is difficult to control the
speed of opening and
closing, and the width of opening and closing, which are important insofar as
preventing
the untimely escape or injury of livestock and enabling large agricultural
vehicles to pass
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Application No .:2448349
through the gate. A farm gate should open to a sufficient width to enable a
vehicle to pass
through, and should close at a slow and steady speed to avoid trapping a
vehicle or
animal. Finally, gates in agricultural settings should not be able to be
opened accidentally
by livestock, a common problem with manually operable gates.
The present invention provides an inexpensive solution to overcoming all of
the foregoing
difficulties. Preferably, the gate has a mechanically-triggered opening means,
adjustable
opening range and velocity, and passive closing and locking means, with manual
override
opening and closing means.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only,
with
reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure us a front elevation of an apparatus, namely a gate and first and
second gate posts
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and showing a
cross-
sectional view of a triggering means;
Figure 2 is a front elevation of a preferred embodiment of the gate and first
and second
gate posts and also shows a preferred embodiment of the triggering means of
Figure 1 in
cross section in closed position
Figure 3 is a front elevation of a preferred embodiment of the gate and first
and second
gate posts of Figure 2 in locked position, covered in weatherproof coating;
Figure 4 is a close up cross sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a
latch means of
the gate of Figure 2 in closed position;
Figure 5 is a front elevation view of a sleeve member of the gate and the
second gate post
of Figure 2 in closed position;
Figure 6 is a front elevation cross-sectional view of the sleeve member and
the second
gate post of Figure 5 in closed position;
Figure 7 is a side elevation of the sleeve member and the second gate post of
Figure 6 in
closed position;
Figure 8 is a front elevation of the sleeve member and the second gate post of
Figure 5 in
open position
Figure 9 is a top view of the gate of Figure 2 moving from open position A
(dotted lines) to
closed position B (solid lines) and the first gate post
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Application No .:2448349
Figure 10 is a side elevation of a typical tractor and tractor bucket, with
the tractor bucket
activating the triggering means of Figure 2
Figure 11 is a front elevation of the gate and the first and second gate posts
of Figure 2,
with the triggering means depicted in cross section, just following impact by
the tractor of
Figure 10 on the triggering means (opening position)
Figure 12 is a front elevation of the gate and first and second gate posts of
Figure 2, with
the triggering means depicted in cross section, in semi-closed position.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In a preferred embodiment as shown in Figure 1, a gate, generally indicated by
reference
numeral 1 comprising vertical support members 2, 3 and a plurality of
horizontal support
members 4, 5, 6, 7 disposed substantially perpendicular to said vertical
support members
2, 3. Said gate 1 relates releasably with first gate post member 8 and is
rotatably fixably
attached to and supported by a second gate post member 9. Both said first and
second
gate post members are preferably disposed substantially parallel to said
vertical support
members, 2,3 and are preferably wall-mounted or fixed in the ground.
Preferably, a top horizontal support member 5 of said gate is adapted such
that said top
horizontal supporii member 5 houses a pressure sensitive triggering means 10
that relates
with a latch means 11 of said gate such that said latch means 11 is retracted
from a locked
closed position following substantial force by a part of a vehicle, for
example a tractor
bucket, as shown at 12 in Fig.10, on said triggering means 10. Said triggering
means 10 is
preferably activated by significant lateral pressure.
As shown in Fig.2, said triggering means 10 is preferably a steel cable of a
fixed length,
affixed at a first end to a first vertical support member 2, then threaded
through or
traversing said top horizontal support member 5, then threaded over a first
pulley 13 on a
second vertical support member 3, then threaded over a second pulley 14 on a
middle
horizontal support member 6, then threaded through or traversing said middle
horizontal
support member 6 through a first spring means 15 and being affixed to a latch
means 11.
In a preferred embodiment, said triggering means 10 is of uniform tension
except for a part
of said triggering means 16 lying between said latch means 11 and said first
spring means
15, which said part 16 remains slack and without tension until said triggering
means 10 is
activated, following which said part 16 becomes tense. In a preferred
embodiment said
latch means 11 is slidable in a horizontal plane. Preferably, said vertical
support members
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Application No .:2448349
2, 3 are tall enough to place said triggering means 10 significantly higher
than an average
farm animal's head height, in order to avoid inadvertent triggering due to
animal contact
with said triggering means 10.
Preferably, said first spring means 15 is an ordinary compression spring that
is pre-loaded
to half compression, as shown in Fig.2. In response to activation by lateral
pressure on
said triggering means 10 , the tension in said triggering means 10 increases,
resulting in
tightening of said triggering means 10 and full compression of said first
spring means 15,
as shown in Fig.11, and retraction of said latch means 11 from a latch housing
12 located
on said first gate post member 8. As shown in Fig 2 said latch means 11 is
preferably
comprised of a latch pin 18 and a latch spring 19, said latch spring 19
preferably being
coiled around said latch pin 18. Said latch spring 19 is preferably an
ordinary compression
spring and is preferably more easily compressed than said first spring means
15, and is
compressed as a result of increased tension in said triggering means 10
resulting from
activation of said triggering means 10. In a preferred embodiment, said latch
means 11
further comprises a manual slidable grip 20 to which said latch pin 18 and
said latch spring
19 are attached, by which the user may manually release said latch means 11
from said
latch housing 17, Allowing the gate to open. Fig.9 depicts said latch pin 18
retracting from
said latch housing 17 such that said gate 1 ejects from a closed position B to
an open
position A. Closed position B is also illustrated by Fig.2, while open
position A is illustrated
by Fig.11.
As shown in Fig.2, said gate 1 further comprises a sleeve member 21 attached
to said
second vertical support member 3 and disposed rotatably about said second gate
post
member 9.
As shown in Fig 6, preferably said second gate post member 9 is hollow and
substantially
cylindrical. Preferably, said sleeve member 21 is substantially cylindrical
and of greater
diameter than said second gate post member 9 and covers an upper portion of
said second
gate post member 9 and is connected to said second gate post member 9 by
connecting
means 22, preferably a threaded rod 23 extending downwardly through a top
surface of
said sleeve member 21 and into said second gate post member 9 secured by a nut
24,
enabling rotation of said sleeve member 21 about said second gate post member
9. In a
preferred embodiment, an ordinary spring 25 is attached to a lower end of said
threaded
rod 23 and extends downwardly therefrom to a fixed point, preferably a scroll
pin 26 affixed
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Application No .:2448349
on an inner surface of said second gate post member 9 distal from said lower
end of said
threaded rod 23. Said connecting means 22 is manually adjustable, enabling
tension on
said spring 25 to be adjusted to personal user preference. Adjustment of said
spring 25 to
increased tension will result in an increased closing velocity of said gate,
while decreasing
tension will result in a decreased closing velocity of said gate.
Preferably, as depicted in Fig.7 the length of said sleeve member 21 is
constant for
approximately one half of the circumference of said sleeve member and
decreases
incrementally linearly from a first side point 27 and a second side point 28
towards a mid-
point 29, said mid-point 29 being the point of shortest length of said sleeve
member 21.
Preferably, said mid-point 29 and first side point 27 and second side point 28
are adapted
by being molded to receive an anchor means 30, said anchor means 30 preferably
comprising a bearing assembly 31 fixably attached to an outside surface of
said second
gate post member by a bolt 32.
As depicted in Fig. 3, in a preferred embodiment the entire gate is coated in
plastic or other
weather proof panels in order to further prevent injury to animals and damage
to vehicles.
The above description is intended to be illustrative rather than construed in
a restrictive
sense, and variations to the specific configurations described may be apparent
to skilled
persons in adapting the present invention to specific applications. Such
variations are
intended to form part of the present invention insofar as they are within the
spirit and scope
of the claims below.
