Abstract:
This is a device, which will allow a gate to be closed or open or set in a position to provide a means of ingress and egress to a particular facility. This would include warehouses, maintenance yards, farms and any sort of delivery facilities and other industrial sites.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A. Field of the Invention 
     This device allows a gate to lock in a certain position. It will eliminate the need for a tie device or post to maintain the position of the gate. 
     B. Prior Art 
     At times it is important in terms of safety to be able to open a gate and keep it open in one position. This idea may also be important in warehouses or similar facilities when deliveries are being made. This concept can also be used in mechanisms to keep car hoods open as well. 
     A representative example of the prior art in this area is Winsor, U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,516. This comprises a latch bracket and a base bracket and is typically used in the automotive industry. The present application has much more utility in terms of multiple applications such as maintenance yards, warehouse facilities, or farms. 
     Other examples of the prior art include Baker, U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,993 and Jegers, U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,695. Unlike the current device none of the prior art solves the problem of being able to maintain the “open” position of the gate. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     There is a need to maintain a gate in a completely open configuration. This enables deliveries to be made without having to continually open the gate. It may also be used in other applications, which may not be specifically mentioned in this application. 
     The device consists of a top hinge and a bottom hinge, which are welded to a gate upright or “post” on one surface and a gate on the other surface. 
     A bottom hinge is included and, like the top hinge, is welded to the gate upright and gate. A pin, which rotates within the top hinge is configured to fit within a hole or indentation and “lock” the gate into position. 
     This device allows the gate to maintain an “open” or “closed” position by simply positioning the pin in the appropriate hole. A handle is provided to position the pin within the device. 
     The top hinge is constructed with a plurality of holes and a locking pin with a handle to maintain the position of the gate. The parts of the bottom hinge must be allowed to rotate relative to each other but the bottom hinge is not equipped with a handle and locking mechanism and does not serve to lock the gate in position. 
     Due to the exposure of this device to various environments, and the need to support the weight of the gate, it should be constructed of durable material. Steel is probably the preferred material although aluminum may also be used. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the device in use. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the top hinge. 
         FIG. 3  is a view along line  3 — 3  on  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The device is comprised of two separate hinges: a bottom hinge  2  and a top hinge  1 . Each respective hinge has a bottom portion and a top portion. Both hinges are secured to the gate upright or post  14 . It is anticipated that this device will allow a gate to rotate approximately one hundred eighty degrees and be locked into position. 
     The top hinge  1  has a top part  10  and a bottom part  12 . The bottom hinge  2  also has a top part  15  and a bottom part  13 . Although each hinge has two parts, the respective parts are different in construction. 
     With respect to the top hinge  1 , one surface of the top part  10  is secured to the gate upright  14  and will secure that part of the hinge to the post  14 . The means to secure will most likely be welding although other means may be used. The bottom part  12  of the top hinge  1  is connected to the underside of the top part  10  and is allowed to rotate freely and is secured to the gate  5 . It allows the gate  5  to be opened and closed. A locking pin  24  with a handle  18  is provided on the top part  10  of the top hinge  1 . Within the in interior of the top hinge  1  is a plurality of hinge pin holes  22  on the bottom part of the top hinge to allow the gate  5  to be locked into position using the locking pin  24  within the top hinge  1 .  FIG. 1 . The handle  18  moves up and down in the slot  16 , which is provided for that purpose. The slot is fashioned to resemble an inverted “J” and when the gate  5  is in its correct position, the handle is inserted into the leg of the inverted J. 
     This structure allows the locking pin  24  to be inserted into the appropriate hinge pin hole  22  to enable the gate to be locked into position. It is anticipated that there are three separate hinge pin holes: one on either end and one in the middle. This particular placement of the hinge pin holes would enable the gate to be locked into position vertical to the post in two positions and horizontal to the gate. A separate hinge pin  20  connects the two parts of the top hinge  1 . A corresponding locking pin  24 , which has a tapered point, can be placed in the appropriate hinge pin hole  22  on the bottom part of the top hinge to lock the gate into position. 
     A handle  18  is provided to allow the locking pin  24  to be lifted from the hole  22  and the gate  5  to be rotated. The handle extends a predetermined distance perpendicular to the locking pin and its diameter is less than the width of the slot  16 . Likewise the diameter of the locking pin  24  is less than the diameter of the hinge pin holes  22  into which the locking pin  24  is inserted to secure the gate  5  in position. 
     The bottom hinge  2  is equipped with two parts: a top part  15  and a bottom part  13 . The top part  15  and the bottom part  13  are connected to each other. One surface of the bottom part  13  is secured to the gate post  14  and a surface of the top part  15  is secured to the gate  5 . The two parts of the bottom hinge are equipped with a means to allow rotation of these parts, most likely by means of a hinge pin  20  as depicted in  FIG. 2 . Unlike the top hinge, the bottom hinge pin does not have any mechanism to allow the gate  5  to lock into position. For that reason the bottom hinge, unlike the top hinge, does not have a slot and handle or the plurality of holes other than the hole for the hinge pin as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     Because of the exposure of this device to all environments, it should be constructed from durable material such as steel or aluminum. 
     While the embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, certain modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to modify the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention.