Abstract:
An apparatus for shutting off power to a gate motor is disclosed when the gate to which the gate motor is connected is opened or closed manually. In a preferred embodiment a sensor is activated that immediately shuts off power to the gate motor upon insertion of a crank into a receptacle on a pulley of the power driven gate movement system to commence manual opening or closing of the gate with the crank. Rotation of the crank in the appropriate direction either opens or closes the gate. Power is restored to the gate motor when the sensor determines that the crank has been withdrawn from the pulley.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention concerns a safety apparatus and method used in a gate security system to prevent injury to a user of the system. More particularly it relates to a method and apparatus that automatically shuts off power to the gate security system when a user of the system manually opens or closes the gate.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Systems that control and limit access to a secure area are very common in our current day and age. They have wide spread use in gated communities, apartment complexes and single-family residences. These security systems consist of enclosing the selected secure area with some type of barrier and limiting access to the secure area to selected entry-exit points where those wishing to enter or leave can be screened to determine if they meet the criteria of those who can have access to the secure area. Typically, the entry-exit points have a movable barrier controlled by a guard or an automated system to allow entry or exit from the secure area.  
           [0003]    In systems manned by a guard, upon the arrival at the barrier the person desiring entry will provide some proof to the guard that they are authorized to enter. Upon determining that the individual is authorized to enter the guard will open the gate, generally by pressing a gate open button so the gate motor can open the gate or alternatively when the individual either on foot or in a vehicle approaches the gate a sensor triggers the opening and then subsequent closing of the gate when the individual or vehicle passes into the secure area.  
           [0004]    In an automated system without a guard the individual seeking entry will initiate the opening of the gate by a variety of means, these can include use of a transponder that transmits a coded signal to the gate opening mechanism or entering a code on a key pad to initiate opening of the gate. Other automated gate entry systems provide for calling on a communication device provided at the gate to another individual at a different location that has authority to open the gate with some type of remote control device.  
           [0005]    Gate entry systems are used in a wide variety of circumstances including systems for allowing individuals or motor vehicles to have ingress or egress to the secure area. However, since all of these systems are automated to one extent or another, including motors to open and close the gate or barrier, they are all subject to malfunction or failure at one time or another. Often the system is located in a remote location. Thus, they have back up mechanisms or other alternative means to assure that the system can still function and allow them to be used even in the event of failure. One of the alternative means provided in many of these gated security systems, in particular those that rely on a motor to open and close the gate, is a mode of manually opening and closing of the gate. One means is to provide some type of release mechanism that detaches the gate from the automated system. Once detached the gate can than slide or swing freely depending on whether it is a sliding or swinging gate. The trouble with this alternative is that once the gate is detached from the system and allowed to swing or slide freely all of the safety and security systems have been overridden. In order to put the systems back on line the gate must be serviced. This typically requires a service call by a technician to assure the gate is properly reconnected to the system.  
           [0006]    An alternative that does not require the detaching of the gate from the automated system involves manually opening the gate with the systems gate opening and closing mechanism. This typically involves cranking the gate open or closed by inserting a shaft of a hand or power crank into a crank shaft receptacle located on a pulley or other rotary member used to transfer power from the gate motor to the gate to move the gate. With this alternative the gate operating mechanism remains unaltered and if the problem causing the failure of the system is transitory, i.e. the result of a local power failure, there is no need for a service call to reset the gate mechanism. However, this alternative has a serious problem in that if the automatic system starts to function while the gate is being manually cranked open or closed, such as the gate motor starts, the individual operating the crank might be injured, perhaps seriously or the system itself might be damaged.  
           [0007]    Thus, what is needed is a system and method for manually opening and closing a security that does not require detaching the gate form the automated systems but which allows the safe injury free opening and closing of the gate.  
         SUMMARY 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    The invention will be better understood by an examination of the following description, together with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1A depicts the housing of a security gate system with a hand crank inserted therein to open an adjacent gate;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1B depicts a portion of the drive mechanism located in the gate housing depicted in FIG. 1A;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is another view of the gate housing with a power crank inserted therein to manually open an adjacent gate;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a view of a gate motor and part of the drive mechanism Located in the gate housing depicted in FIGS. 1A and 2;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3A is a review view of a gear box hosing located within the housing of FIGS. 1A and 2;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the invention and some of the function components it would work with;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 is a view of the gate motor with the present invention implemented;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5A is a perspective side view of a preferred embodiment of the safety plate;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a rear view of the safety plate with a first version of the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a rear view of the safety plate with a second version of the present invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a rear view of the safety plate with a third version of the present invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 9A is a side view of the safety plate with a fourth version of the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 9B is a rear view of the safety plate with the leaves of the fourth version of the invention closed over the opening in the plate;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 9C is a rear view of the safety plate with the Leaves of the fourth version of the invention in the open position and the shaft of a crank protruding through the opening;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 10A is a rear view of the safety plate with the leaves of the fifth version of the invention closed over the opening in the plate; and  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 10B is a rear view of the safety plate with the leaves of the fifth version of the invention in the open position and the shaft of a crank protruding through the opening. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]    [0025]FIG. 1 shows some of the basic parts of a typical security gate system. Enclosure  21  houses the gate motor, gate controller and mechanism for transferring the power of the motor to the gate to thereby move the gate  23 . If a failure occurs due to a power failure, malfunctioning of the gate controller which controls the opening or closing of the gate or for some other reason an individual that wants to open or close the gate need only insert a crank  25  into a crank shaft receptacle  26  on the end of drive shaft  39  of motor  36  and crank the gate open or closed. FIG. 1A provides a blow up view of the opening  27  in the housing through the crank is inserted into the crank receptacle  29 . Crank  25  is then rotated to open the gate  23 . A belt  31 , part of which can be seen, forms part of the mechanism for transfer power from the motor  36  to the gate to open the gate. The person using crank  25  thus uses the same mechanical system to open gate  23  as the gate motor  36 . FIG. 2 depicts use of a power crank  34  to open the gate.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 provides a view of gate motor  36 , crank  25 , and crankshaft receptacle  29  used in current security gate systems with the cover removed. Drive shaft  39  of motor  36  has pulley  41  at its end that transfers power to belt  31 . Also, crankshaft receptacle  29  is located on the side of pulley  41  opposite drive shaft  39  of motor  36 . Belt  31  transfers power from pulley  39  to pulley  43 . Pulley  43  connects to gate drive shaft  45 . Gate drive shaft  45  transfers the power to a gear box  47  FIG. 3A, which in turn transfers the power to move the gate. Gear box  47  (FIG. 3A) in turn transfers the power to drive pulley  49 . In turn drive pulley  49 , in concert with positioning pulleys  51  and  52 , moves chain  55  to thus move gate  23  (FIG. 1A) back and forth. As noted, the proceeding only describes one system, any number of different types of mechanical systems, not shown, can be used to make the final transfer of power and thus move the gate. The system also has limiting switches or sensors that tell the system when the gate is fully open or closed. The preceding description and drawings only depict one type of security gate set up. Those of ordinary skilled in the art once having read and understood the concepts set forth will readily see that the invention to be disclosed herein has wide application with a variety of security gate systems.  
         [0027]    As previously discussed one of the problems with all security gate systems that allow the manual opening or closing of the gate in an emergency is the possibility of injury to the person opening the gate or damage to the mechanism if the security gate system were to start operating when the gate is manually being opened or closed. If a person is manually opening the gate with a crank and the power was to suddenly come on serious injuring could result such as a broken arm or some similar injury. The motor turns at multiple revolutions per seconds much faster than a person might be able to crank it. The person turning the crank would feet a sudden jolt as the motor inadvertently kicks on. If the person opening the gate manually were to be using a power crank  34  (FIG. 2) not only might he or she be injured when it kicks back if the motor were to inadvertently start the system or the power crank could be damaged.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4 provides a schematic block type diagram of the major functional components of the invention and the system with which the invention would be used. A security gate  38  operating under normal parameters would be opened and closed by power provided by gate motor  40 . Gate controller  42  would control the operation of gate motor  40 . The invention herein adds manual “gate” operation sensor  44  and power shut off mechanism  46 . The present invention operates such that whenever someone is attempting to open or close gate  38  sensor  44  would note this fact and generate a gate manual operation signal. Power shut off mechanism  46  would receive the gate manual operation signal and accordingly either directly shut off power to gate motor  40  or send a signal to gate controller  42  which in turn would shut off power to motor  40  for so long as the gate manual operation signal was generated by sensor  44 . As will be noted in more detail below sensor  44  and power shut off mechanism can be separate entities or a single unity device. In it simplest form sensor  44  and power shut off mechanism  46  would be a single switch activated by the insertion of a crankshaft into a crankshaft receptacle for manually opening or closing gate  38 . The single switch would shut off gate motor  40  directly. More sophisticated systems would have a separate sensor  44  and power shut off mechanism  46  as will be explained in more detail below.  
         [0029]    The above description only provides a basic description of a security gate system using a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Such systems can be much more sophisticated and include sensors embedded in the roadway leading into and through the gate for detection of vehicles. The gate controller can have many different functional features all controlled by its own computer system with memory with security codes it identifies as belonging to persons or vehicles authorized to enter the restricted area. Many of these features are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and will not be discussed at length herein since they are not necessary for a complete description of the invention herein and an understanding of the invention herein.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 5 depicts the present invention implemented in the above-described system. A safety plate  61  is positioned between the interior side of the gate system housing  21  (depicted in partial cut away view) and pulley  41 . Safety plate  61  in the embodiment depicted attaches by bolts  62  to motor stand  63 . Safety plate  61  has an opening  65  positioned at point between crank receptacle  29  and opening  27  in housing  21 . Thus, when shaft  25 A of crank  25  is inserted into opening  27  on housing  21  to position the end of the crankshaft in the crankshaft receptacle  29  it passes through opening  65  of safety plate  61 . When shaft  25 A of crank  25  passes through opening  65  it trips or activates a sensing device or switching device that automatically turns off the power to the motor or to the entire gate security system and the power remains off for so Long as the shaft is inserted through opening  65 . This thereby prevents the power to the motor from inadvertently coming on when the gate is manually being opened or closed. This type of safety shut off mechanism works automatically without the need of the person opening or closing the gate having to take the extra step of shutting the system power off, a step that one could easily forget. Additionally, it is the least intrusive means for implementing a safety shut off feature since the act of manually opening the gate automatically implements the system but does not otherwise disturb or reset the system. Thus, if the problem is a transient or passing one, such as a Local power failure, once local power is restored there is no need for any further action on the system in order to assure it is properly functioning.  
         [0031]    A variety of sensor or switching systems can be used as part of the present invention. They can range from electromechanical switches to infrared or light sensitive sensors such as those activated by the breaking of the path of a beam of light.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 5A provides a perspective view of safety plate  61  with a first version of the shut off device of the present invention. Plate  61  has a front  61 A, a rear or back surface  61 B and a base  61 C. In FIG. 5A a portion of two sliding doors or leaves  67  cover opening  65 . FIG. 6 provides a view of the rear  61 B of safety plate  61  on which the mounting of leaves  67  can be view. Upon insertion of the shaft of a crank leaves  67  would slide out and make contact with switches  69 . When doors  67  are pushed out they depress buttons  71  on each of the switches. Wire bundle  72  would connect switches  69  to the electrical system of the security gate system. Upon insertion of the shaft of the crank and activation of the switches the power to at least the gate motor is turned off. The power remains off while the shaft of the crank remains in the crank receptacle. Thus, while the crank is being turned to open or close the gate the power remains shut off.  
         [0033]    Only one switch and leave could be used and the system would still operate properly. As depicted in FIG. 7 a single door or leaf  74  partially covers opening  65 . When the shaft of a crank is inserted into opening  65  it forces up leaf  74 , which slides up on slides  77 . When leaf  74  slides up it depresses button  79  of switch  81 . Switch  81  is connected to the electrical system of the security gate system by wire  83 . This in effect shuts off the power to the motor and or entire gate security system for so long as the shaft remains inserted in opening  65 . When the shaft is removed from opening  65  gravity forces leaf  74  back down. This in turn causes button  79  to extend out of switch  81  caused by insertion of a crankshaft.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 8 provides another variation of the system in which the shaft of the crank when inserted through opening  65  interrupts passage of a beam of light  85  between a Light source  87  and a light receptor  89 . The system detects the interruption of the beam over line  91  and thereby shuts off the power of the system so long as the shaft remains in opening  65  and keeps the power off. Any suitable light source and receptor can be used including a laser light source and receptor.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIGS. 9A to  9 C depict another variation of the present invention. In FIG. 9A two leaves  93  cover opening  65 . The fronts of leaves  93  form a indented or depressed funnel shape  95  to facilitate the parting of the leaves  93  when a shaft is inserted into opening  65 . FIG. 9B provides a rear view of safety plate  61  with leaves  93  closed over opening  65  which appears in outline from. Leaves  93  are attached to safety plate  61  each by single hinge  95 . Switches  97  are positioned adjacent to leaves  93  within the swing range of leaves  93 . As depicted in FIG. 9C when a shaft  99  of a crank is inserted into opening  65  leaves  93  each swing back out of the way and make contact with buttons  101  of each of the switches  97 . Switches  97  connect to the electrical system of the security gate system over tines  103  to thereby signal the system to shut down power while shaft  99  remains in opening  65 .  
         [0036]    [0036]FIGS. 10A and 10B provide another version of the invention in which two swinging leaves or doors  107  cover opening  65 . Leaves  107  are retained in the closed position over opening  65  by springs  109 , which pull leaves  107  closed. Adjacent to each of the leaves  107  is contact point or switch  110  which connect to the electrical system of the security gate system by line  112 . When a shaft  99  of a crank is inserted into opening  65  this forces leaves  107  back which pivot on hinges  115 . As both leaves  107  pivot out they make are forced against contact surface of switch  110 . Upon making contact a signal is sent to the electrical system of the security gate system, which initiates a shut off of the power to the gate motor and or system. This shut off condition remains until shaft  99  is removed from opening  65 . Device  110  can be either a sensing contact surface or switch for this version of the invention or any of the other versions of the invention. A sensing contact surface  
         [0037]    While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made to it without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.