Vehicle actuated fence gate

In a vehicle-actuatable fence gate comprising a gate panel having a free end and a hinge end, gate hinge mounting means for mounting the gate panel to a hinge post of the like, gate latching closure means mounted by the gate panel for latching the gate in a closed condition to latch post or the like, vehicle-actuatable unlatching means mounted by the gate panel for contact by a vehicle passing through a gate area whereby the gate latching closure means may be unlatched to enable the gate to be swung open by bumping contact from a vehicle from a closed condition to an open condition, the improvement comprising:

• a) gate latching retaining means mounted by the gate panel for securing the gate to a retaining post or the like for a predetermined length of time whereby a vehicle may pass through the gate area before the gate is released and allowed to self close;
• said gate latching retaining means comprising an elongated pipe or the like having an elongated interior therein, longitudinally-mounted within the gate panel and pivotally-supported within the gate panel for tilting movement within the gate panel about a transverse pivot axis;
• means dividing the interior of said pipe into two longitudinally-adjacent chambers, one such chamber being a free-end pipe chamber adjacent the free end of the gate and the other such chamber being a hinge-end pipe chamber adjacent the hinge end of the gate;
• means providing for liquid transfer between the two chambers;
• a ballast liquid contained within said pipe;
• b) gate-open retainer means mountable to a retaining post of the like and so constructed and arranged to engage a free-end of the pipe at the gate free end when the gate is opened and hold it at an elevation above a hinge-end of the pipe at the gate hinge end whereby said ballast liquid will transfer from one pipe chamber to the other pipe chamber, and to release the free-end pipe end after a predetermined length of time whereby the gate may swing closed on its own;
• and
• c) pipe carrier means mountable to a hinge post or the like for supporting the hinge-end of the pipe, said pipe carrier means being so constructed and arranged to support the adjacent hinge-end pipe end at an elevation higher than the free-end pie end when the gate panel is in a closed condition whereby liquid ballast will transfer into the free-end pipe chamber, and to support the adjacent hinge-end pipe end at an elevation lower than the free-end pipe end when the gate panel is in an open condition, and to lift the adjacent pipe end from the lower elevation to the higher elevation when the gate is moved from an open condition to a closed condition whereby liquid ballast will transfer from the hinge-end pipe chamber into the free-end pipe chamber.