Patent Publication Number: US-2012043434-A1

Title: Powered gate post with slots for positional adjustment

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/168,256 which was filed on Apr. 10, 2009, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/304,845 which was filed on Feb. 16, 2010. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This disclosure relates generally to a powered gate post assembly that includes slots that provide for adjustable attachment of a gate, and further adjustment to accommodate many different spacing of gate rails. 
     Large gates utilized for security and to provide privacy are often opened by way of an actuator. The actuator provides for opening and closing of the gate without having to leave the safety and comfort of a vehicle. A rotating post is typically fabricated with specifically located mounting holes or features. A bracket is then attached to the rotating post at these attachment points. As the holes or other mounting features have a predetermined location, the gate can only me mounted at those predefined positions, or additional holes must be fabricated to accommodate different desired mounting locations. 
     SUMMARY 
     A disclosed powered gate assembly includes powered posts that support gates. Each of the powered posts includes a rotating outer housing that includes channels that provide infinite adjustable positions for brackets supporting each of the gates. The powered post is mounted next to, or can also be mounted to the fixed post. The powered posts rotate to move the gates between open and closed positions. Each of the gates are attached to the powered posts by adjustable brackets. The adjustable brackets provide vertical and horizontal adjustment of the gates relative to each other and the outer posts. 
     These and other features disclosed herein can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an example powered gate system. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of an outer rotating housing. 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the outer rotating housing and mounting bracket. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an example bracket mounted to the outer rotating housing. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another adaptor for the mounting bracket. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another adaptor for the mounting bracket. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of another outer rotating tube. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of another example bracket. 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of bracket mounted to the outer rotating tube. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross sectional view of an attachment member for mounting the bracket to the outer rotating tube. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a powered gate assembly  10  includes powered posts  12  that support rails  16  of corresponding gates  15 . The gates provide an opening through a fence that ends in a fixed post  14 . The powered post  12  is mounted next to, or can also be mounted to the fixed post  12 . The powered posts  12  rotate to move the gates  15  between open and closed positions. The rails  16  are attached to the powered posts  12  through adjustable mounting brackets  18 . The adjustable brackets  18  allow adjustment of the rails  16  vertically in one of an infinite number of positions along the outer post  12 . The vertical position of the corresponding gate can be adjusted by sliding along the rotating posts  12 . Further, each of the adjustable brackets  18  provide for adjustment horizontally such that the ends of the gates  15  can be aligned and a gap between the gates  15  can be set as desired. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2-4 , the powered post  12  is supported on a fixed support  35  that defines an internal cavity  37 . An actuator  27  is disposed within the inner cavity  37  and includes a shaft  29  that extends through slots  39  in the support  25 . Cams  31  are supported at the end of the shaft  29  and ride within inner channels  35 . The slots  39  twist about the support  25  such that longitudinal motion provided by the actuator  27  is translated into rotational motion of the post  12 . 
     The brackets  18  include a slider  20  that fits within channels  33  formed in the post  12 . The slider includes a lip  32  that engages an inner surface of a flange  30  that defines the channels  33 . The channels  33  run the entire length of the post  12  and therefore allow an unlimited number of adjustment positions. Moreover, the number of brackets  18  can be adjusted to accommodate any style of gate  15 . 
     A threaded rod  22  is threadingly engaged to the slider  22  and engages the portion  36  of the post  12 . The interface  34  between the end of the threaded rod  22  and the post portion  36  secures the bracket  18  in a desired vertical position on the post  12 . Flats  24  on the threaded rod  22  provide for the use of a wrench to turn the rod  22  into forced contact at the interface  34 . The forced contact between the rod  22  and the portion  36  drives the lips  32  outward against the inner surface of the flanges  30 . The flanges  30  and lips  32  are sized to withstand the forces encountered by the interface  34  along with the weight exerted by the gate  15 . 
     An adjustment nut  26  is threaded movable along the rod  22  and provides for horizontal movement of the adaptor  28 . The adaptor  28  fits within a portion of the gate  15 . In this example, the adaptor  28  fits within the rails  16 . The example rails can be hollow structures constructed of plastic, metal or any other material utilized to construct a gate assembly  18 . The nut  26  includes a groove  38  (best shown in  FIG. 3 ) that receives a pin  40  that is mounted within the adaptor  28 . The pin  40  and groove  38  interface maintains the nut  26  in position with the adaptor  28  such that rotation of the nut  26  along the rod  22  causes movement of the adaptor  28 . The adaptor  28  can therefore be moved horizontally to provide further adjustment and alignment of the gates  15 . 
     The example adaptor  28  is fabricated from a plastic material and includes a shape and configuration that mates within the rails  16 . The example configuration includes three separate closed shapes that interface with features of the rails  16 . As appreciated, the specific configuration of each shape can be altered to accommodate application specific parameters. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , another adaptor  46  includes a flange  48  with openings  50  for receiving fasteners to secure another gate configuration. In this example, the adaptor  46  can be mounted to support a gate on a face, such as for a wooden privacy fence of for simply securing a wood fence rail. Moreover, the adaptor  46  could be utilized to secure gates fabricated from any material where a face mounted bracket is needed and/or desired. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , another adaptor  52  includes an opening  54  for receiving a tubular member such is commonly utilized for a tubular farm style gate. The adaptor  52  is split into two parts to receive a tubular portion of a gate. The adaptor  52  can then be secured together with the provided threaded fasteners. The adaptor  52  maintains the adjustability described with the previous adaptors. The slider  20  can be moved vertically within the channels  33  and then secured in a desired position the nut  26  is provided and is threadingly movable to move the adaptor  52 , and thereby the mounted gate, horizontally. Accordingly, several example adaptors have been disclosed and it should be appreciated that additionally adaptors could be utilized and created to fulfill application specific needs. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7  is a cross-section of another outer rotating tube  72 . The outer rotating tube  72  has a D-shaped cross-sectional configuration to provide a constant distance during rotation of the outer rotating tube  72  between the fixed post  14  and the rotating outer rotating tube  72 . The outer rotating tube  72  includes a curved surface  74  and a flat side  76 . The curved surface  74  is positioned adjacent the fixed post  14  and provides the desired constant spacing during rotation of the gate assembly  10 . 
     The outer rotating tube  72  includes a guide channels  78  disposed on an internal surface  80 . The guide channels  78  receive cams  31  that are attached to a drive shaft  29  of an actuator  27  (shown in  FIG. 2 ). The outer rotating tube  72  includes two channels  82  located on the flat side  76  that extend along the length of the outer rotating tube  72 . That is, the channels  82  extend longitudinally along the entire length of the tube  72 . 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a bracket  84 . The bracket  84  includes a planar portion  86  including holes  88 . In one example, the bracket  84  is substantially square and includes one hole  88  near each corner. The bracket  84  includes an attachment feature  90  that attaches to one of the gates  15 . The attachment feature  90  can be a rod (as shown), a ring, or a planar piece substantially parallel to the planar portion  86 . 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  shows the bracket  84  and the outer rotating tube  72 . The planar portion  86  of the bracket  84  is positioned against the flat surface  76  of the outer rotating tube  72 . Two holes  88  of the bracket  84  are aligned with one of the channels  82 . 
     The position of the bracket  84  (which is attached to the gate  12 ) is adjustable along the length of the rotating tube  72 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , an attachment system secures the bracket  84  to the outer rotating tube  72  in the desired position. The attachment system includes a screw  92  including an external thread  94  that is received in each of the holes  88  of the bracket  84 . A corresponding dog  98  (or nut) including an internal thread  96  is received in the channel  82 . In one example, the dog  98  is stainless steel. There is one dog  98  for each screw  92 . Each bracket  84  is secured to the outer rotating tube  726  with four dogs  98  and four screws  92 . The external threads  94  of each screw  92  engage with the internal thread  96  of each dog  98  to secure the bracket  84  to the outer rotating tube  72 . The screw  92  is turned until a head  100  of the screw  92  engages and applies pressure to an outer surface of the planar portion  86  and the flat surface  76 . Once all the screws  92  are tightened, the bracket  84  is retained in a desired longitudinal position relative to the outer rotating tube  72 . 
     The screws  92  can be loosened to allow the bracket  84  to slide relative to the outer rotating tube  72  along the axis A. The associated dogs  98  slide within the channels  82  to provide vertical movement of the bracket  84  along the outer rotating tube  72 . Accordingly, the gate  15  attached to the bracket  84  can be positioned along the axis A such that the height and vertical position of the gate  15  can be adjusted relative to the fixed structure  22 . Moreover, the relative position of the gates  15  can be set relative to each other and at a desired vertical position. 
     Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.