Apparatus and method for opening and closing a gate

A gate opening and closing apparatus for moving a gate a relatively limited distance between a gate closed position covering an access opening and a gate opened position and effectively measuring the relatively limited distance therebetween to control such movements on subsequent occasions, and which gate may be operated in external dirt contaminated environments, said apparatus comprising:

• a) motive means to drive the gate between the gate opened position and the gate closed position,
• b) connecting means for connecting said motive means to said gate to cause powered movement of the gate between the gate opened and the gate closed positions,
• c) a rotatable member operatively associated with said motive means and connecting means and being rotated when said motive means is energized and said gate is moved,
• d) magnetic means and a magnetic sensor assembly for initially measuring the amount of movement of the rotatable member and thereby initially measuring the amount of movement of the gate between the gate opened and the gate closed positions, said magnetic means and magnetic sensor assembly capable of being operative in environments which contain dirt and similar foreign matter and which dirt and similar foreign matter does not substantially interfere with operation thereof, one of said magnetic means and said sensor assembly being mounted on said rotatable member and the other being fixed with respect thereto,
• e) control means operatively connected to said magnetic sensor assembly for determining the extent of movement of the magnetic means or the sensor and thereby initially measuring the movement between the gate opened and gate closed positions or between the gate closed and gate opened positions,
• f) memory means operatively associated with said control means for storing the measure of movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, and which enables operation of said motive means for moving the said gate under control of the control means for only the movement previously measured and stored in the memory means,
• g) locking means associated with said gate and said magnetic means and magnetic sensor assembly, said locking means operating in combination with said control means to cause an automatic locking of said gate under conditions when one attempts to unauthorizedly open the gate, and
• h) said magnetic means and magnetic sensor assembly in combination with said control means controlling movement of said gate when a force is applied to said gate which would affect movement in a manner other than in normal opening and closing movement.

A gate opening and closing apparatus for moving a gate a relatively limited distance between a gate closed position covering an access opening and a gate opened position and effectively measuring the relatively limited distance therebetween to control such movements on subsequent occasions, and which gate may be operated in external dirt contaminated environments, said apparatus comprising:

• a) motive means to drive the gate between the gate opened position and the gate closed position,
• b) connecting means for connecting said motive means to said gate to cause powered movement of the gate between the gate opened and the gate closed positions,
• c) a rotatable member operatively associated with said motive means and connecting means and being rotated when said motive means is energized and said gate is moved,
• d) magnetic means and a magnetic sensor assembly for initially measuring the amount of movement of the rotatable member and thereby initially measuring the amount of movement of the gate between the gate opened and the gate closed positions, said magnetic means and magnetic sensor assembly capable of being operative in environments which contain dirt and similar foreign matter and which dirt and similar foreign matter does not substantially interfere with operation thereof, one of said magnetic means and said sensor assembly being mounted on said rotatable member and the other being fixed with respect thereto,
• e) control means operatively connected to said magnetic sensor assembly for determining the extent of movement of the magnetic means or the sensor and thereby initially measuring the movement between the gate opened and gate closed positions or between the gate closed and gate opened positions, and
• f) locking means associated with said gate and said magnetic means and magnetic sensor assembly, said locking means operating in combination with said control means such that an electrical signal is generated to cause and automatic locking of said gate under conditions when one attempts to unauthorizedly open the gate.

A gate opening and closing apparatus for moving a gate a relatively limited distance between a gate closed position covering an access opening and a gate opened position and effectively measuring the relatively limited distance therebetween to control such movements on subsequent occasions, and which gate may be operated in dirt contaminated external environments, said apparatus comprising:

• a) motive means to drive the gate between the gate opened position and the gate closed position,
• b) connecting means for connecting said motive means to said gate to cause powered movement of the gate between the gate opened and the gate closed positions,
• c) a rotatable member operatively associated with said motive means and connecting means and being rotated when said motive means is energized and said gate is moved,
• d) magnetic means and a magnetic sensor assembly for initially measuring the amount of movement of the rotatable member and thereby initially measuring the amount of movement of the gate between the gate opened and the gate closed positions, said magnetic means and magnetic sensor assembly capable of being operative in environments which contain a limited amount of dirt and similar foreign matter and which limited amount of dirt and similar foreign matter does not substantially interfere with operation thereof, said magnetic means and sensor assembly also being operative to control other movements of the gate, one of said magnetic means and said sensor assembly being mounted on said rotatable member and the other fixed with respect thereto,
• e) control means operatively connected to said magnetic sensor assembly for determining the extent of movement of the magnetic means or the sensor and thereby initially measuring the movement between the gate opened and gate closed positions or between the gate closed and gate opened positions, said control means operating in conjunction with said magnetic means and magnetic sensor assembly for controlling other movements of the gate in response to external conditions, and
• f) memory means operatively associated with said control means for storing the measure of movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions, and which enables operation of said motive means for moving the said that under control of the control means for only the movement previously measured and stored in the memory means, and
• g) locking means associated with said gate and said magnetic means and magnetic sensor assembly and operating in conjunction with said control means to cause an automatic locking of said gate under conditions where one attempts to unauthorizedly open the gate.

A method of moving a gate for a relatively limited distance between a gate closed position covering an access opening and a gate opened position, and effectively measuring the relatively limited distance therebetween to control such movement on subsequent occasions, and which gate may be operated in dirt contaminated external environments, said method comprising:

• a) causing a movement of the gate between the gate opened position and the closed position,
• magnetically detecting with a magnetically actuable sensor the number of rotations of a magnetic element during the movement of the gate and causing the generation of electrical signals in response to the number of rotations so detected, and where the step of magnetically detecting the number of rotations can be performed in external environments which contain a limited amount of dirt and similar foreign matter since the dirt and similar foreign matter does not substantially interfere with the detection thereof,
• c) initially determining a measure of the movement between the gate opened and gate closed positions or between the gate closed and gate opened positions, based on the generated electrical signals,
• d) storing the measure of movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions,
• e) moving the gate between the opened and closed positions upon subsequent occasions upon actuation of a switch means under control of a control means for only the movement previously measured and stored in the memory means,
• f) controlling other movements of the gate in response to external forces operating on the gate with the control means operating in conjunction with the magnetic means and magnetically actuable sensor to control such movements, and
• g) operating said magnetic means and said magnetic sensor assembly in combination with the control means to cause an automatic locking of said gate by a locking means associated with the gate under conditions where one attempts to unauthorizedly open the gate.

A method of moving a gate for a relatively limited distance between a gate closed position covering an access opening and a gate opened position, and effectively measuring the relatively limited distance therebetween to control such movement on subsequent occasions, and which gate may be operated in dirt contaminated external environments, said method comprising:

• a) causing a movement of the gate between the gate opened position and the closed position,
• b) detecting the movement of the gate and causing the generation of electrical signals in response to the movement so detected, and where the step of detecting can be performed in external environments which contain a limited amount of dirt and similar foreign matter since the dirt and similar foreign matter does not substantially interfere with the detection thereof,
• c) initially determining a measure of the movement between the gate opened and gate closed positions or between the gate closed and gate opened positions, based on the generated electrical signals,
• d) storing the measure of movement of the gate between the gate opened and gate closed positions,
• e) moving the gate between the opened and closed positions upon subsequent occasions upon actuation of a switch means under control of a control means for only the movement previously measured and stored in the memory means,
• f) controlling other movements of the gate in response to external forces operating on the gate with the control means to control such movements, and
• g) operating said control means to cause an automatic locking of said gate by a locking means associated with the gate under conditions where one attempts to unauthorizedly open the gate.