Claims
- 1. A gate opening and closing apparatus for moving a gate between a gate closed position and a gate opened position, said apparatus comprising:
- a) motive means to drive the gate between the gate opened position and the gate closed position,
- b) means connecting said motive means to said gate to cause powered movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, and
- c) control means operatively connected to said motive means to control operation of said motive means and hence to control movement of said gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, said control means causing said gate to move to the closed position and remain at the gate closed position in an unlocked condition, means causing a locking action of the gate while at the closed position when a force is applied to the gate to move the gate away from the gate closed position and which force is from a source other than from the motive means, said gate being manually openable when unlocked and no electrical power is available to the apparatus.
- 2. The gate opening and gate closing apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that a locking mechanism is provided to cause a locking action at the closed position, and that electrical current is provided to said locking mechanism to initiate a locking action and thereby effectively lock the gate in the gate closed position when a force other than from the motive means is applied to the gate to move the gate away from the closed position.
- 3. The gate opening and gate closing apparatus of claim 2 further characterized in that said locking mechanism comprises a positive solenoid operated locking mechanism and said control means enables generation of a signal to the solenoid of the locking mechanism to positively lock the gate when a force other than from the motive means is applied to the gate tending to move the gate away from the gate closed position.
- 4. The gate opening and gate closed apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that said control means and motive means operate in conjunction with one another to detect an obstruction in the path of movement of the gate and automatically reverses the direction of movement of the gate upon encountering an obstruction.
- 5. The gate opening and gate closing apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that said control means initially measures the movement between the gate opened and gate closed positions or between the gate closed and gate opened positions, without the need for limit switch means, said apparatus further comprising:
- a) memory means operatively associated with said control means and storing the measure of movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, and
- b) switch means operatively connected to said motive means to cause the motive means to move the gate between the opened and closed positions upon actuation of said switch means, and motive means moving the gate under control of the control means for only the movement previously measured and stored in the memory means.
- 6. A method for moving a gate between a gate closed position covering an access opening and a gate opened position, said method comprising:
- a) driving the gate with a motive means between the gate opened position and the closed position, with a motive means,
- b) causing the gate to move to the closed position and remain at the gate closed position in an unlocked condition when it is desired to close the access opening, and
- c) causing a locking action of the gate while at the closed position when a force is applied to the gate to move the gate away from the gate closed position and which force is from a source other than from the motive means.
- 7. The method of claim 6 further characterized in that said method comprises manually opening the gate when the gate is unlocked and no electrical power is available to the motive means.
- 8. The method of claim 7 further characterized in that said method comprises generating a positive locking action with a locking mechanism at the gate where a force other than from the motive means is applied to the gate to move the gate away from the closed position.
- 9. A gate opening and closing apparatus for moving a gate between a gate closed position and a gate opened position, said apparatus comprising:
- a) motive means to drive the gate between the gate opened position and the gate closed position,
- b) means connecting said motive means to said gate to cause powered movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions,
- c) a locking mechanism enabling a locking of the gate while at the gate closed position, and
- d) control means operatively connected to said motive means to control operation of said motive means and hence to control movement of said gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, said control means causing said gate to move tot he closed position and remain at the gate closed position in an unlocked condition, means causing an electrical current to be applied to the locking mechanism when a force is applied to the gate to move the gate away from the gate closed position and which force is from a source other than from the motive means, said gate being manually openable when unlocked and no electrical power is available to the apparatus.
- 10. The gate opening and gate closing apparatus of claim 9 further characterized in that said control means and motive means operate in conjunction with one another to detect an obstruction in the path of movement of the gate and automatically reverses the direction of movement of the gate.
- 11. The gate opening and gate closing apparatus of claim 9 further characterized in that said control means initially measures the movement between the gate opened and gate closed positions or between the gate closed and gate opened positions, without the need for limit switch means, said apparatus further comprising:
- a) memory means operatively associated with said control means and storing the measure of movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, and
- b) switch means operatively connected to said motive means to cause the motive means to move the gate between the opened and closed positions upon actuation of said switch means, said motive means moving the gate under control of the control means for only the movement previously measured and stored in the memory means.
- 12. A method for moving a gate between a gate closed position covering an access opening and a gate opened position, said method comprising:
- a) driving the gate between the gate opened position and the closed position, with a motive means
- b) causing the gate to move to the closed position and remain at the gate closed position in an unlocked condition when it is desired to close the access opening,
- c) causing generation of an electrical current when a force is applied to the gate to move the gate away from the gate closed position and which force is from a source other than from the motive means, and
- d) transmitting the electrical current to a positive locking mechanism which causes a locking action upon the application of the force which tends to move the gate away from the closed position.
- 13. A gate opening and closing apparatus for moving a gate between a gate closed position and a gate opened position, said apparatus comprising:
- a) motive means to drive the gate between the gate opened position and the gate closed position,
- b) means connecting said motive means to said gate to cause powered movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, and
- c) control means operatively connected to said motive means to control operation of said motive means and hence to control movement of said gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, said control means causing said gate to move to the closed position and remain at the gate closed position in an unlocked condition, means causing generation of an electrical signal when a force is applied to the gate to move the gate away from the gate closed position and which force is from a source other than from the motive means, said electrical signal being transmitted to said control means resulting in a locking action upon the application of the force which tends to move the gate away from the gate closed position, said gate being manually openable when unlocked and no electrical power is available to the apparatus.
- 14. The gate opening and gate closing apparatus of claim 13 further characterized in that the transmission of the electrical signal to the control means causes the control means to initiate a locking action and thereby effectively lock the gate in the gate closed position.
- 15. The gate opening and gate closing apparatus of claim 13 further characterized in that said apparatus comprises a positive solenoid operated locking mechanism and said control means enable generation of a signal to the solenoid of the locking mechanism to positively lock the gate when a force is applied to the gate tending to move the gate away form the gate closed position.
- 16. The gate opening and gate closing apparatus of claim 13 further characterized in that said control means and motive means operate in conjunction with one another to detect an obstruction in the path of movement of the gate and automatically reverses the direction of movement of the gate.
- 17. The gate opening and gate closing apparatus of claim 13 further characterized in that said control means initially measures the movement between the gate opened nd gate closed positions or between the gate closed and gate opened positions, without the need for limit switch means, said apparatus further comprising:
- a) memory means operatively associated with said control means and storing the measure of movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, and
- b) switch means operatively connected to said motive means to cause the motive means to move the gate between the opened and closed positions upon actuation of said switch means, said motive means moving the gate under control of the control means for only the movement previously measured and stored in the memory means.
- 18. A method for moving a gate between a gate closed position covering an access opening and a gate opened position, said method comprising:
- a) driving the gate between the gate opened position and the closed position, with a motive means
- b) causing the gate to move to the closed position and remain at the gate closed position in an unlocked condition when it is desired to close the access opening,
- c) causing generation of an electrical signal when a force is applied to the gate to move the gate away from the gate closed position and which force is from a source other than from the motive means, and
- d) transmitting the electrical signals to a control means which causes the control means to initiate a locking action upon the application of the force which tends to move the gate away from the closed position.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of my co-pending application Ser. No. 459,526, dated Jan. 2, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,012 dated Dec. 31, 1991, which is, in turn, a continuation of my application Ser. No. 185,444, dated Apr. 25, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,860, dated Apr. 17, 1990.
US Referenced Citations (12)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
WO8603249 |
Jun 1986 |
WOX |
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
459526 |
Jan 1990 |
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Parent |
185444 |
Apr 1988 |
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