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US 12,037,836 B2Granted
Self-closing safety gate
AssigneePs Industries Incorporated
InventorsPeter Allen Letvin, Daniel Thomas Satrom, Chad Joseph Rose
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Self-closing safety gate embodiments are disclosed herein. The self-closing safety gates include a hinge plate configured to rotate about a vertical support member and engage a hoop portion. In some embodiments, the hinge plate includes at least one support arm portion with a channel. In such embodiments, the channel can be configured to receive and frictionally engage a hoop arm of the hoop portion with a compressive fastener. In some embodiments, the self-closing safety gate can be damped.
Claims35
A self-closing safety gate comprising:
- a gate frame configured to extend horizontally across an access area between a vertical support member and a vertical stop member, the gate frame comprising at least one rotatable coupling portion disposed along a vertical portion of the gate frame, the at least one rotatable coupling portion configured to rotatably couple the gate frame to the vertical support member via a support bracket connected to the vertical support member to permit the gate frame to rotatably swing between an open position and a closed position;
- a spring assembly operably coupled to the gate frame and the vertical support member to bias the gate frame towards the closed position;
- and
- a damper assembly that opposes the force of the spring assembly bias to reduce a speed of closure of the gate frame from the open position to the closed position, the damper assembly comprising a rotary damper comprising:
- a damper housing portion;
- an engagement arm coupled to the damper housing portion, the engagement arm being configured to engage and move with a portion of the gate frame;
- and
- a damper stud coupling the damper housing portion to the support bracket, the damper stud having a stabilizer portion extending downward through an opening in the support bracket.
5 more elements
A hinge plate for a self-closing safety gate, the hinge plate configured to rotate about a vertical support member of the self-closing safety gate and engage at least one hoop arm of a hoop portion of the self-closing safety gate, the hinge plate comprising:
- at least one rotatable coupling portion disposed along a vertical portion of the hinge plate, the at least one rotatable coupling portion configured to rotatably couple the hinge plate to the vertical support member;
- and
- at least one support arm portion having a length extending laterally from the vertical portion of the hinge plate, the support arm portion having a channel formed in the support arm portion, the channel comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion of the support arm portion, the channel having a width extending from a front face of the hinge plate to a rear face of the hinge plate, the channel configured to:
- receive the at least one hoop arm of the hoop portion in the channel;
- and
- frictionally engage the hoop arm in the channel with a compressive fastener, wherein the compressive fastener comprises a shaped bolt that extends across the width of the channel in at least two positions, the shaped bolt being disposed in the distal portion of the at least one support arm portion, the shaped bolt configured to frictionally engage at least one surface of the hoop arm received in the channel when the shaped bolt is tightened.
3 more elements
A self-closing safety gate comprising:
- a vertical support member,
- a hoop portion having at least one hoop arm, and
- a hinge plate, the hinge plate configured to rotate about the vertical support member and engage the at least one hoop arm of the hoop portion, the hinge plate comprising:
- at least one rotatable coupling portion disposed along a vertical portion of the hinge plate, the at least one rotatable coupling portion configured to rotatably couple the hinge plate to the vertical support member;
- at least one support arm portion having a length extending laterally from the vertical portion of the hinge plate, the support arm portion having a channel formed in the support arm portion, the channel comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion of the at least one support arm portion of the hinge plate, the channel having a width extending from a front face of the hinge plate to a rear face of the hinge plate, the channel configured to:
- receive the hoop arm of the hoop portion in the channel;
- and
- frictionally engage the hoop arm in the channel with a compressive fastener, the compressive fastener comprising at least one bolt that passes through opposite sides of the channel and frictionally engages at least one surface of the hoop arm received in the channel when the at least one bolt is tightened;
- wherein the at least one bolt is a shaped bolt that extends across the width of the channel in at least two locations, the shaped bolt being disposed in the distal portion of the at least one support arm portion, the shaped bolt configured to frictionally engage at least one surface of the hoop arm received in the channel when the shaped bolt is tightened.
6 more elements
A self-closing safety gate comprising:
- a gate frame configured to extend horizontally across an access area between a vertical support member and a vertical stop member, the gate frame comprising at least one rotatable coupling portion disposed along a vertical portion of the gate frame, the at least one rotatable coupling portion configured to rotatably couple the gate frame to the vertical support member via a support bracket connected to the vertical support member to permit the gate frame to rotatably swing between an open position and a closed position;
- a spring assembly operably coupled to the gate frame and the vertical support member to bias the gate frame towards the closed position, the spring assembly comprising a spring disposed in the support bracket;
- and
- a damper assembly that opposes the force of the spring assembly bias to reduce a speed of closure of the gate frame from the open position to the closed position;
- wherein the bias of the spring assembly can be adjusted by changing a position of a tensioning end of the spring within the support bracket.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.