GB2451110A

GB2451110A - Cantilever gate having an external drive system

Info

Publication number: GB2451110A
Application number: GB0713973A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Augustin Green; Vincent George Green
Original assignee: Parking Facilities Ltd
Current assignee: Parking Facilities Ltd
Priority date: 2007-07-18
Filing date: 2007-07-18
Publication date: 2009-01-21
Also published as: GB0713973D0; WO2009010798A1

Abstract

A cantilever gate apparatus 1 comprises a drive system 10,11,12,13,14,15 for moving a beam 20 of the cantilever gate. At least part of the drive system is arranged externally to the beam (20) and is capable of moving the beam (20) between open and closed positions. The drive system preferably comprises a motor 15 and gearbox 14 driving an axle 12 with a first driving roller 10 and ideally a second driving roller 11 under the beam 20; the external drive rollers allow easier maintenance. The beam may have downwardly extending flanges 21 either side of the drive roller to guide the beam and prevent lateral movement. The beam may be hollow and have a channel opening through which support structure 323 may extend which supports stabilising rollers 322a within the hollow beam increasing the pressure against the drive rollers 10, 11 and guiding the beam.

Description

245111o CM4TILEVER GATE APPARATUS The present invention relates to a cantilever gate apparatus.

Figure 1 shows a prior art cantilever gate arrangement having a barrier 101 that is supported at one end by a support means 102 and a support structure 103, and is unsupported or free at an opposed end. The barrier 101 is located at an entrance to a site, and can slide under the operation of a drive motor (not shown) to open and close the entrance.

The barrier 101 is moved by a drive motor located at the supported end. It is common for such motors to be disposed within a beam 104 of the gate arrangement 101, and comprise drive rollers to open and close the gate.

If a drive motor is not properly maintained it often fails under the strain of opening or closing the gate arrangement 101. However, proper maintenance is difficult as the drive motor and rollers are often complex, and, as the drive motor is inconveniently positioned, maintenance is frequently overlooked.

It is an aim of an embodiment of the present invention to address problems associated with drive motors for cantilever gates whether identified herein or otherwise.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cantilever gate apparatus comprising: a drive system for moving a beam of a cantilever gate; wherein the drive system is arranged externally to the beam to move the beam between open and closed positions.

Suitably, the drive system comprises a drive motor and an axle; wherein the axle is coupled directly to the drive motor to move the beam.

Suitably, the axle further comprises a driving means arranged to move the beam. Suitably, the driving means comprises a plurality of drive rollers. Suitably, the drive wheels are arranged externally to the beam and are rotatable to move the beam. Suitably, the drive rollers are rotated by the axle.

Suitably, the axle extends from the drive motor.

Suitably, the drive motor is arranged within a housing from which the axle extends. Suitably, the housing is arranged, in use, externally to the beam. Suitably, the drive motor comprises an electric motor and a gearbox; wherein the axle is coupled to extend from the gearbox.

Suitably, the apparatus further comprises a plurality of axle supports arranged to support the axle and allow the axle to rotate when driven by the drive motor.

Suitably, the apparatus further comprises a stabilising means arranged, in use, to prevent unwanted movement of the beam.

Unwanted movement should be understood as movement resulting in uncontrollable wobbling or vibrations, which could result in the beam becoming inadvertently divorced from the driving system.

Suitably, the stabilising means comprises a plurality of stabilising wheels comprising a plurality of rotatable wheels arranged within the beam to prevent unwanted movement of the beam with respect to the axle. Suitably, the wheels prevent unwanted horizontal movement.

Suitably, the wheels prevent unwanted vertical movement.

Suitably, the stabilising wheels are located on wheel supports arranged, in use, to fix the stabilising wheels in position within the beam.

Suitably, the apparatus further comprises a beam arranged to be engaged with the axle to be moved by the axle. Suitably, the beam is arranged to be supported by the driving means to be moved directly by the driving means. Suitably, the beam comprises a first and a second flange arranged either side of the driving means to prevent unwanted horizontal movement parallel to the axle.

Suitably, the beam comprise a channelled opening through which, the stabilising stations extend. Suitably, the opening is dimensioned to allow the beam to be opened and closed.

Suitably, the beam comprises a gate arrangement; and wherein the beam and drive system are arranged to form a cantilever gate.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus as set forth in the appended claims. Other features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description which follows.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how embodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a front view of a prior art cantilever gate; Figure 2 shows a sectional rear view of a cantilever gate apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 shows a sectional side view of a cantilever gate apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 4 shows a sectional plan view of a cantilever gate apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a cantilever gate apparatus 1 of an embodiment of the present invention. The cantilever gate apparatus 1 is arranged to open and close an entrance of a site, for example, a factory or a car park, so that access to the site can be controlled.

The cantilever gate apparatus 1 comprises a drive system to slide a beam 20 of a barrier 2 across the ground to open and close the entrance. The drive system is arranged externally to the beam 20 to be easily accessible for maintenance purposes.

The drive system comprises first and second drive rollers 10, 11, an axle 12, an axle supports means 13, and a drive motor. The drive motor comprised a gear box 14 and an electric motor 15 arranged to rotate the axle 12 and so move the beam 20.

The axle 12 is driven by the drive motor 15 to rotate the drive rollers 10, 11 to open or close the beam 20.

The axle 12 is coupled to the gearbox 14 to be driven by the motor 15. The connection between the axle 12 and gearbox 14 is simple and is easily maintainable.

The gearbox 14 and electrical motor 15 are arranged in a housing 16 separate from the drive rollers 10, 11.

Arranging the gearbox and the motor separately to the drive rollers results in a drive system that can be independently accessed and maintained. The provision of a housing 16 ensures that the gearbox and electrical motor are also not easily damaged by the weather, or unwanted tempering, when the drive system is located at a desired location.

The gearbox 14 comprises components configured to rotate the axle 12 causing the drive rollers to act upon the beam 20. The drive rollers 10, 11 are disposed externally to the beam 20 and are easily accessible for maintenance purposes. The gearbox 14 is driven by an electric motor 15. The gearbox comprises a clutch mechanism for disengaging the motor 15 from the axle 12 allowing the gate to be opened if power can not be supplied to the motor 15 to drive the roller 10, 11, i.e. the gearbox 14 can be put into "neutral" to allow the barrier 2 to be manually opened.

The axle 12 is rotated clockwise and anti-clockwise about its axis causing the drive rollers 10, 11 to move the beam between open and closed positions, respectively.

The drive rollers 10, 11 can also comprise toothed or ridged sections on their outer surface to improve the traction between the roller and the beam.

The drive rollers 10, 11 are made from any suitable material including rubber, nylon and plastics. The axle 12 is fabricated by extrusion, moulding, forging, casting or other suitable process from any suitable material including steel and aluminium.

The axle support means 13 are provided to rotatably support the axle 12. In the preferred embodiment, the axle support means 13 comprises three support members 131, 132, 133. The opposed ends of the axle 12 are supported by the first and third support members 131, 133. The second support member 132 is arranged between the first and third support members 131, 133. The first and second drive rollers 10, 11 are arranged either side of the second support member 132. The axle 12 is rotatable within the support members 131, 132, 133 so that the axle 12 can be used to drive the rollers 10, 11. The support members 131, 132, 133 comprise bearing blocks to allow the axle 12 to be rotatably moved. The beam 20 is moveably supported on the drive rollers using the axle support means 13.

The first and third support members 131, 133 are arranged in a first and second housing 16, 17. The first support member 131 is arranged in the housing 16, and the third member 133 is arranged in an additional housing 17, which is separate to the housing 16.

The beam 20 forms part of a barrier 2, which is used to control access to the site where the cantilever gate apparatus is located 1. The beam 20 is positioned on the drive system to allow the beam 20 to be moved between open and closed positions to control access. Positioning the beam on or externally to the drive system ensures that the drive generated by the drive system is efficiently and consistently communicated to the beam 20.

The beam 20 extends perpendicularly from the drive system and is slidably moved between open and closed positions under the operation of the drive system. The beam 20 slides in a direction which is substantially parallel to the ground where the beam 20 is located, i.e. in moving the beam 20 the displacement between the ground and the beam 20 is substantially constant.

The beam 20 comprises a flange 21 and a drive roller receiver 22 arranged and adapted to substantially prevent the beam from moving side to side in a direction parallel to the axle 12.

The flange 21 and roller receiver 22 are provided to guide the beam and ensure that the beam's movement is substantially perpendicular to the axle 12. The roller receiver 22 can be grooved or ridged, or provided with a frictional surface such as rubber, to increase traction between the beam 20 and the drive rollers 10, 11.

The flange 21 extends along opposed sides of the beam and is provided to minimise the risk of the beam 20 becoming inadvertently divorced from the drive rollers 10, 11. Providing the flange 21 to run along the length of the beam 20 causes the flange 21 to act as a shield for the drive roller 10, 11. The shielding effect of the flange 21 causes, for example, rain to be guided away from the drive rollers 10, 11 and drip from the flange 21 onto the ground. The ability of the flange 21 to shield the drive rollers 10, 11 ensure that drive is efficiently and consistently applied to the beam 20 in adverse weather conditions.

The beam 20 is fabricated by extrusion, moulding, casting, welding or other suitable process using metals, such as steel or aluminium, or other suitable materials.

The beam 20 is dimensioned to range between 10 to 35cm in width and is dimensioned to range between 2m to 20m in length.

In use, the beam 20 has a tendency to be pivotally moveable about the axle 12. Figures 2, 3 and 4 show that the cantilever gate apparatus 1 comprises a stabilising means 30 to restrict the pivotal movement. The stabilising means 30 is provided to prevent the beam 20 from pivotally moving by supporting the second end.

Locating the stabilising means 30 adjacent to the second end enables the first end of the beam to be provided free from obstruction. The stabilising means 30 ensures that the beam 20 is pivotally supported and is stable during an opening or closing procedure, i.e. the gate does not The stabilising means 30 comprises a series of stabilising stations 31, 32, 33. The stabilising stations 31, 32, 33 are arranged to improve the stability of the beam 20 as it is moved. The stabilising stations 31, 32, 33 work collectively to ensure that the beam 20 is substantially stable and does not vibrate, wobble or move in an unwanted or uncontrollable manner with respect to the axle 12 as the beam 20 is moving from the open to the closed position, i.e. the beam 20 remains parallel to the ground as it is moved.

In the preferred embodiment, three stabilising stations are provided. Each one of the first, second and third stabilising stations 31, 32, 33 comprise a plurality of stabilising wheels 311, 312a, 312b, 321a, 321b, 331, 332a, 332b located on a stabilising support 313, 323, 333.

The stabilising wheels are disposed internally to the beam 20 to work cooperatively with each of the drive rollers 10, 11. The stabilising wheels work in conjunction with the drive rollers to ensure that the drive generated by the rollers is efficiently communicated to the beam 20. The stabilising wheels and the drive rollers act as a pinch wheel arrangement to ensure that the beam is stable and that the drive is efficiently and consistently communicated to the beam.

As shown by Figure 4, each one of the first and third stabilising stations 31, 33, comprise a first and second vertically-arranged stabilising wheel 312a, 312b, 332a, 332b and a horizontally aligned stabilising wheel 311, 331 arranged on first and third stabilising supports 313, 333.

The second stabilising station 32 comprises a first and second vertically-aligned stabilising wheel 321a, 321b arranged on a stabilising support 323.

In the first station 31, each one of the wheels 311, 312a, 312b is capable of being rotated if engaged with the walls of an internal chamber 25 of the beam 20. Each one of the wheels are dimensioned and positioned so that the outer surface of the wheels 311, 312a, 312b is arranged to be capable of touching both a first and a second opposed wall of an internal chamber 25 of the beam 20, but each one of the wheels can only touch one of those walls at a time. For example, if the height of the chamber 25 is 186mm, the wheel is dimensioned to be 184mm in diameter, resulting in a 2mm gap being formed between a wall not engaged with a wheel and the wheel 311, 312a, 312b.

As the beam 20 moves between the open and closed positions, the beam 20 pivots between acting upwards, i.e. the bottom wall of the chamber 25 touches a bottom region of the wheels 312a, 312b, or downwards, i.e. the top wall of the chamber 25 touches a top region of the wheels 312a, 312b. The vertically-aligned wheels 312a, 312b are provided to ensure that the beam 20 is supported as it slides across the entrance, and that the position of the beam relative to the drive rollers 10, 11 is substantially constant ensuring the drive is efficiently and consistently applied to the beam 20.

In the second station 32, each one of the vertically-aligned wheels 321a, 321b are arranged to ensure drive from rollers 10, 11 is stably applied to the beam 20.

Each one of the wheels 321a, 321b are dimensioned and 3C positioned so that the outer surface of the wheels is arranged to touch a wall of an internal chamber 25 at one point, i.e. the bottom region of the outer surface of each of the wheels touches the bottom wall of the chamber 25.

In the third station 33, the horizontally-aligned wheel 331 is arranged and dimensioned to be capable of being rotated if engaged with a sidewall of the chamber 25. The wheel 331 is capable of touching both the first and the second sidewalls of the internal chamber 25, but the wheel 331 can only touch one of those sidewalls at a time. For example, if the width of the chamber 25 is 185mm, the wheel is dimensioned to be 183mm in diameter, resulting in a 2mm gap being formed between a wall not engaged with a wheel and the wheel 311, 3l2a, 312b.

Arranging the horizontally aligned-wheels 311, 331 of the first and third stations 31, 33 to form a gap when engaged with one of the sidewalls ensures that unwanted movement of the gate parallel to the axle 12 is minimised.

Each one of the vertically-aligned wheels 332a, 332b of the third station 33 are arranged to ensure drive from rollers 10, 11 is stably and consistently applied to the beam 20. Each one of the wheels 332a, 332b are dimensioned and positioned so that the outer surface of the wheels is arranged to touch a wall of an internal chamber 25 at one point, i.e. the bottom region of the outer surface of each of the wheels touches the bottom wall of the chamber 25.

The supports 313, 323, 333 provide a structure to support the wheels 311, 3l2a, 3l2b, 321, 322a, 322b, 331, 332a, 332b in fixed position. The wheels are located on axles in the fixed positions to be rotatable as the beam moves. The stabilising stations extend into the chamber 25 through a channelled opening 26 provided on the beam 20. The channelled opening 26 extends along the length of the beam and is dimensioned to allow the gate to open and close an entranceway.

The stabilising wheels are fabricated from nylon, rubber, plastics or any other suitable material. The station support is fabricated by extrusion, moulding, forging or other suitable processes from materials such as steel and aluminium.

The cantilever gate apparatus 1 of embodiments of the present invention provides components that are easily arranged and installed to form a cantilever gate. The components are independently arranged with respect to each other, and can be easily maintained or replaced due to this independence.

Although a few preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification

(including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features

disclosed in this specification (including any

accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed. if-

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A cantilever gate apparatus comprising: a drive system for moving a beam of a cantilever gate; wherein the drive system is arranged externally to the beam to move the beam between open and closed positions.
2. The cantilever gate apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drive system comprises a drive motor and an axle; wherein the axle is coupled directly to the drive motor to move the beam.
3. The cantilever gate apparatus of claim 2, wherein the axle further comprises a driving means arranged to move the beam. (0

1
4. The cantilever gate apparatus of claim 3, wherein the driving means comprises at least one drive roller.
5. The cantilever gate apparatus of claim 4, wherein the driving means comprises a plurality of drive rollers.
6. The cantilever gate apparatus of claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the or each drive roller is arranged externally to the beam and is rotatable to move the beam.
7. The cantilever gate apparatus of any one of claims 4-6, wherein the or each drive roller is rotated by the axle.
8. The cantilever gate apparatus of any one of claims 2-7, wherein the axle extends from the drive motor.
9. The cantilever gate apparatus of any one of claims 2-8, wherein the drive motor is arranged within a housing from which the axle extends.
10. The cantilever gate apparatus of claim 9, wherein, the housing is arranged, in use, externally to the beam.
11. The cantilever gate apparatus of claims 2-10, wherein the drive motor comprises an electric motor and a gearbox; wherein the axle is coupled to extend from the gearbox.
12. The cantilever gate apparatus of any of claims 2- 0 11, further comprising a plurality of axle supports arranged to support the axle and allow the axle to rotate when driven by the drive motor.
13. The cantilever gate apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus further comprises a stabilising means arranged, in use, to prevent unwanted movement of the beam.
14. The cantilever gate apparatus of claim 13, wherein the stabilising means comprises a plurality of stabilising wheels that are rotatable and are arranged within the beam to prevent unwanted movement of the beam relative to the axle.
15. The cantilever gate of any one of claim 14, wherein the wheels prevent unwanted horizontal movement.
16. The cantilever gate apparatus of claims 14 or 15, wherein the opening is dimensioned to allow the beam to be opened and closed by the driving means.
17. The cantilever gate apparatus of claims 14-16, wherein the stabilising wheels are located on wheel supports arranged, in use, to fix the stabilising wheels in position within the beam.
18. The cantilever gate apparatus of claims 2-17, wherein the apparatus further comprises a beam arranged to he engaged with the axle to he moved by the axle.
19. The cantilever gate apparatus of claim 18, wherein the beam is arranged to be supported by the driving means to be moved directly by the driving means. (0
20. The cantilever gate apparatus of claims 18 or 19, wherein the beam comprises a first and a second flange arranged either side of the driving means to prevent unwanted horizontal movement parallel to the axle.
21. The cantilever gate apparatus of claims 18-20, wherein the beam comprises a channelled opening through which the stabilising stations extend.
22. The cantilever gate apparatus of claim 21, wherein the opening is dimensioned to allow the beam to be opened and closed.
23. A cantilever gate comprising the cantilever gate apparatus of any one of claims 1-22; a gate arrangement; and wherein a beam and a drive system of the cantilever gate apparatus are arranged to form the cantilever gate.
24. A cantilever gate apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
25. A cantilever gate substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Co (0