Abstract:
A cane bolt is spring biased up to allow a movable barrier with which the cane bolt is engaged to move. The cane bolt can be pushed down into a strike hole to prevent movement of the barrier. To hold the cane bolt down, a pin on the cane bolt abuts a slotted stop on the barrier. To raise the cane bolt, the cane bolt is simply rotated so that the pin aligns with and thus passes through the slot, allowing the spring to urge the cane bolt up.

Description:
I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to assemblies and methods for opening and closing fence gates. 
     II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Cane bolts are used to hold barriers such as swinging gates closed. The cane bolt slides up and down on the gate and when the gate is closed, the bottom of the cane bolt is positioned over a hole in the ground into which the cane bolt is lowered to hold the gate closed. To open the gate, the cane bolt is lifted out of the hole and the gate may then be swung open. 
     As understood herein, it is typically the case that the cane bolt is released once it is removed from the hole, which causes the cane bolt to drop back down against the ground. As further understood here, as the gate is moved the cane bolt drags against the ground, resulting in scores in the ground and damage to the cane bolt. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an assembly includes an elongated rigid cane bolt engageable with a movable barrier to selectively hold the movable barrier stationary with respect to a fixed barrier. The cane bolt defines a long axis and a pin extending away from the long axis. A spring is coupled to the cane bolt to bias the cane bolt to a raised position in which a bottom end of the cane bolt is above the ground. A stop is engageable with the movable barrier and defines a central opening through which the cane bolt moves but through which the pin cannot move. The stop also defines a slot through which the pin can move when aligned with the slot. With this structure, the cane bolt is manually movable against the spring to a lowered position and then rotatable to assume an angular orientation in which the pin is below the stop and is not aligned with the slot to thereby cause the pin to abut a bottom surface of the stop under the influence of the spring while preventing the spring from raising the cane bolt from the lowered position. The cane bolt is then rotatable to assume an angular orientation in which the pin is aligned with the slot to thereby permit the pin to pass through the slot to in turn permit moving the cane bolt between the raised and lowered positions. 
     In some implementations, the cane bolt defines an upper end opposite the bottom end and a handle on the upper end extending away from the axis of the cane bolt. In examples, when the movable barrier is in a closed position with respect to the fixed barrier the bottom end of the cane bolt is disposed in a strike hole in the ground below the movable barrier to thereby hold the movable barrier stationary relative to the fixed barrier. 
     In example embodiments, the stop can be established by a metal washer. An example stop can define first and second slots arranged opposite each other with respect to the central opening. A spring support can be engaged with the movable barrier below the stop and a spring trap can be coupled to the cane bolt above the spring support and below the stop. The spring is disposed in compression between the spring support and the spring trap when the assembly is engaged with the movable barrier. The spring trap cannot pass through the central opening of the stop. 
     In another aspect, a barrier assembly includes a fixed barrier, a movable barrier movable relative to the fixed barrier between an open configuration and a closed configuration, and an elongated rigid holder vertically disposed on the movable barrier and movable between a raised position and a lowered position. A resilient member is coupled to the holder to urge the holder toward the raised position. Also, an interference element is positioned to prevent the holder from being urged away from the lowered position when the holder assumes a first angular orientation with respect to the movable barrier and to allow the holder to be urged away from the lowered position when the holder assumes a second angular orientation with respect to the movable barrier. 
     In another aspect, a cane bolt assembly includes a cane bolt, a stop through which the cane bolt moves, and a pin coupled to the cane bolt to move therewith. The pin passes through the stop when the cane bolt assumes a first angular orientation and cannot pass through the stop when the cane bolt assumes a second angular orientation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing the present cane bolt assembly engaged with a swinging gate; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing the present cane bolt assembly engaged with a horizontally sliding gate; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of an example cane bolt assembly in accordance with present principles in the lowered position with the cane bolt assuming a first angular orientation to prevent the spring from pushing the cane bolt up; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the example cane bolt assembly in  FIG. 4  but in the raised position with the cane bolt assuming a second angular orientation which aligns the pin with the slot enable the cane bolt to be pushed up by the spring; and 
         FIG. 5  is a close-up perspective view of the slotted stop from the bottom, showing the pin in solid in the first angular orientation of the cane bolt and in phantom to illustrate the second angular orientation of the cane bolt, with portions cut away for clarity. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Beginning initially with  FIG. 1 , a schematic diagram showing a cane bolt assembly engaged with a swing gate is shown. Among other things described in  FIGS. 3-5  below, the cane bolt assembly  10  includes opposing ends  12  and  14  where, in the non-limiting embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , end  12  is an upper end and end  14  is a bottom end. Also, the assembly  10  has a handle  16  on the upper end  12 . The assembly  10  is engageable with a movable barrier  18  to selectively hold the movable barrier  18  stationary with respect to a fixed barrier  20 . The movable barrier  18  may be, in non-limiting embodiments, any type of gate typically placed between ends of a fence allowing access to opposite sides of the fence. 
     It is to be understood that, in non-limiting embodiments, the cane bolt assembly  10  is vertically disposed along the movable barrier  18  to define a long axis  22  and has a pin (not shown) extending away from the long axis  22 . Further, it is to be understood both that the handle  16  on the assembly  10  extends away from the axis  22  and that the assembly  10  can reciprocate vertically along the axis  22 . The cane bolt assembly  10  will be described in greater detail in reference to  FIGS. 3-5  below. 
     Still referencing  FIG. 1 , another fixed barrier  24  may be coupled to the fixed pivot  26  of the movable barrier  18  in non-limiting embodiments. Thus, it may be appreciated that, in non-limiting embodiments, the movable barrier  18  may have open and closed configurations establishing a swinging gate in a fence or other structure. When the movable barrier  18  is in a closed position with respect to the fixed barrier  20 , the assembly  10  may be placed in the extended position such that the bottom end  14  of the cane bolt assembly  10  may be disposed in a strike hole  28  below the movable barrier  18  to hold the assembly  10  and, thus, the movable barrier stationary. That is, when the end  14  is disposed in the strike hole  28 , the movable barrier  18  is stationary relative to the fixed barrier  20 . 
     Now referencing  FIG. 2 , a similar cane bolt assembly to that described in  FIG. 1  is shown. However,  FIG. 2  provides another non-limiting example embodiment of the cane bolt assembly where the assembly  10  is instead engaged with a horizontally sliding gate that is part of a fence or other structure. 
     In  FIG. 2 , the cane bolt assembly  10  is engageable with a movable barrier  30  to selectively hold the movable barrier  30  stationary with respect to a fixed barrier  32 . The movable barrier  30  is generally movable along a horizontal axis  36  which is perpendicular to the long axis of the cane bolt. Thus, it may now be appreciated that the movable barrier  30  in  FIG. 2  may have open and closed configurations that establish a sliding gate rather than a swinging one, where the movable barrier  30  generally slides along the axis  36 . 
     It is to be further understood that a strike hole  38  is below the movable barrier  30 . Thus, when the movable barrier  30  is in the closed position with respect to the fixed barrier  32 , the assembly  10  may be placed in the extended position such that the bottom end  14  of the cane bolt assembly  10  may be disposed in a strike hole  38  below the movable barrier  30 . Thus, when the end  14  is disposed in the strike hole  38 , the movable barrier  30  is stationary relative to the fixed barrier  32 . 
     Moving to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , both figures show in greater detail the cane bolt assembly  10  referenced in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Particularly referencing  FIG. 3 , a side view of an example cane bolt assembly in accordance with present principles is shown. In  FIG. 3 , the assembly is in the lowered position where a cane bolt assumes a first angular orientation to prevent a spring from pushing the cane bolt up. With respect to  FIG. 4 , a side view of the example cane bolt assembly in  FIG. 3  but in the raised position is shown. In  FIG. 4 , the cane bolt assumes a second angular orientation which aligns a pin with a slot to enable the cane bolt to be pushed up by the spring. In some non-limiting embodiments, the first angular orientation and the second angular orientation may be orthogonal to each other. 
     In reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , an elongated rigid cane bolt  52  having a handle  54  is shown in both. The cane bolt  52  is understood to be engageable with a movable barrier  56  to selectively hold the movable barrier  56  stationary with respect to a fixed barrier (not shown in  FIG. 3  or  4 ). Further, the cane bolt  52  defines a long axis  58 . A rigid pin  60  extends away from the long axis  58 , preferably horizontally as shown. 
     A coil spring  62  coupled to the cane bolt  52  is shown in both  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The spring  62  biases the cane bolt  52  to the raised position shown in  FIG. 4 . Thus, the spring is held in compression as will be described further below. It is to be understood that the coil spring  62  shown in the non-limiting embodiment of  FIGS. 3 and 4  is but one example of a resilient member which may be used in accordance with present principles. Other examples of resilient members which may be used include a leaf spring, a compressed resilient rubber or plastic foam tube. 
     Continuing in reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , when the cane bolt  52  is in the lowered position, the bottom end  64  of the cane bolt  52  may be disposed in a strike hole  66 , as particularly shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     Still referencing  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a stop  68  is shown. It is to be understood that the stop  68  can be established by a hollow disk-shaped metal washer in non-limiting embodiments. The stop  68  is engageable with the movable barrier  56  by, e.g., welding or by a bracket  69 , and the stop  68  defines a central circular opening, which will be discussed in  FIG. 5 , through which the cane bolt  52  may move but through which the pin  60  cannot move. Further, the stop  68  also defines at least one slot (not shown in  FIG. 3  or  4 ) through which the pin  60  can move only when aligned with the slot. 
     Still in reference to both  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a spring trap  70  and a spring support  72  are also shown. The spring support  72  is fixedly engageable with the movable barrier  56  by, e.g., welding or by a bracket  73  below the stop  68 . In contrast, the spring trap  70  is fixedly coupled to the cane bolt  52  as by welding, bracketing, etc. above the spring support  72  but below the stop  68 . Thus, the spring  62  is disposed in compression between the spring trap  70  and the spring support  72  when the assembly  10  is engaged with the movable barrier  56 . Further, it is to be understood that the spring trap  70  cannot pass through the central opening (not shown in  FIG. 3  or  4 ) of the stop  68  along with the cane bolt  52 . 
     It may now be appreciated that the cane bolt assembly  10  has both a lowered position as shown in  FIG. 3  and a raised position as shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in the non-limiting embodiment in  FIG. 3 , the cane bolt  52  is manually movable against the bias of the spring  62  toward the lowered position, the cane bolt  52  being rotatable to assume an angular orientation where the pin  60  is below the stop  68  and not aligned with any slot in the stop  68 . Thus, the lowered position shown in  FIG. 3  may cause the pin  60  to abut the bottom surface of the stop  68  under the influence of spring  62  bias while preventing the spring  62  from raising the cane bolt  52  from the lowered position. The movable barrier  56  is consequently stationary with respect to a fixed barrier (not shown) while in the lowered position. 
     As shown in the non-limiting embodiment in  FIG. 4 , the cane bolt  52  is rotatable to assume an angular orientation in which the pin  60  may be aligned with a slot in the stop  68  to thereby permit the pin  60  to pass through the slot. When the pin  60  is aligned with the slot so that it may pass through the slot, the spring  62  urges the cane bolt  52  upwardly, moving the cane bolt  52  from the lowered position shown in  FIG. 3  to the raised position shown in  FIG. 4 . While in the raised position, the assembly  10  thereafter maintains a clearance between the bottom end  64  and both the strike hole  66  and any ground surrounding the strike hole  66 . 
     To better understand the details of an example stop  68 ,  FIG. 5  illustrates a close-up perspective view of the slotted stop  68  from a bottom perspective.  FIG. 5  shows the pin  60  in solid in the first angular orientation of the cane bolt  52  and also in phantom to illustrate a second angular orientation of the cane bolt  52 , with portions of the cane bolt cut away for clarity. The position of the solid pin  60  is understood to be the position of the pin  60  in the lowered position described above in reference to  FIG. 3 . When the cane bolt  52  is in the lowered position, it may now be further appreciated that the pin  60  abuts the bottom surface  74  of the stop  68  under the influence of the spring  62  bias while preventing the spring  62  from raising the cane bolt  52  from the lowered position. In one implementation, a groove  76  may be formed along a radial of the stop  68  as shown such that the pin  68  rests in the groove  76  to better hold the cane bolt in position. The groove  76  does not extend completely through the stop  68 , however. 
     In contrast, a slot  78  is formed along a radial of the stop  68  completely through the stop  68  and, in example embodiments, orthogonal to the groove  76 . The pin  60  shown in phantom is understood to be the position of the pin  60  as it passes through the slot  78  in the stop  68  as the cane bolt transitions to the raised position described above in reference to  FIG. 4 . 
     Additionally, a second slot  80  may be formed in the stop  68  opposite the first slot  78  with respect to the central circular opening  82  of the stop  68 . Thus, the cane bolt can be moved to the raised position if the pin  60  is aligned with either one of the slots  78 ,  80 . 
     While the particular CANE BOLT WITH SPRING AND SLOTTED STOP is herein shown and described in detail, it is to be understood that the subject matter which is encompassed by the present invention is limited only by the claims.