Patent ID: 6925756

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling ingress and egress to and from a restricted compartment ( 3 ), said apparatus comprising an access area including a floor, a stationary gate frame ( 2 ) mounted in a fixed position on said floor in said access area, a rotatable gate ( 1 ) rotatably mounted in said stationary gate frame for rotation about a longitudinal gate axis (A), said gate frame ( 2 ) comprising at least two frame openings ( 21 ), said rotatable gate ( 1 ) comprising a single gate opening ( 11 ), means for permitting rotation of said rotatable gate ( 1 ) relative to said gate frame ( 2 ) for selectively aligning said single gate opening ( 11 ) with only one of said at least two frame openings ( 21 ) at a time for ingress and egress into and out of said rotatable gate ( 1 ), and external control means outside of said rotatable gate for arresting said rotatable gate in a gate closing position in which said single gate opening faces any one of a closed door and a wall portion of said stationary gate frame for preventing an unauthorized exit from said rotatable gate ( 1 ), wherein said rotatable gate is a hollow cylinder having a cylinder wall, a top ( 1 A), a bottom ( 23 A) and a cut-out in said cylinder wall forming said single opening ( 11 ) for ingress into and egress from said rotatable gate ( 1 ).