NZ538209A

NZ538209A - Passage gate

Info

Publication number: NZ538209A
Application number: NZ538209A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Markus Benz
Original assignee: Bruder Siegel Gmbh & Co Kg
Priority date: 2003-04-03
Filing date: 2004-03-18
Publication date: 2006-02-24
Also published as: WO2004088050A1; DE20305477U1; AU2004225817A1; EP1608820A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a passage gate, especially a passage gate for persons, comprising a stationary support piece (1), a swiveling piece (3) which is rotatable thereabout and to which a door leaf (20) is fixed via at least one connecting piece (21), an intermediate member that is also rotatable relative to the support piece (1), a panic safeguard which acts between the intermediate member and the swiveling piece or the support piece, and a locking member that acts between the intermediate member and the support piece or the swiveling piece, is part of a locking mechanism, and is movable in the direction of the swiveling axis (8) between two positions, the swiveling piece (3) being blocked in one of said positions while being pivotable in the other position. The inventive passage gate is characterized in that the locking mechanism is provided with a stationary actuating element (16) which rests on a stationary holder and acts upon the locking member via a coupling device in order to displace the locking member along the swiveling axis (8).

Description

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF M.Z 1 1 4 FEB 2005 558 9 RECEIVED Passage gate The present invention relates to a passage gate, especially a passage gate for persons, comprising a stationary support piece, a swiveling piece which is rotatable thereabout and to which a door leaf is fixed via at least one connecting piece, an intermediate member that is also rotatable relative to the support piece, a panic safeguard which acts between the intermediate member and the swiveling piece or the support piece, and a locking member that acts between the intermediate member and the support piece or the swiveling piece, is part of a locking mechanism, and is moveable in the direction of the swiveling axis between two positions, the swiveling piece being blocked in one of said positions while being pivotable in the other position.

Passage gates of the kind discussed herein find application in particular in supermarkets where they serve to block access to unmanned checkouts in the checkout area. The integrated panic safeguard allows the door leaf to be readily opened in the case of an emergency simply by exceeding a prescribed minimum moment regardless of the position of the locking mechanism or locking member. In the context of the present application, the statement that the swiveling piece is blocked is to be understood as meaning that in the relevant position of the locking member, the swiveling piece and the door leaf fitted thereto is still turnable about the swiveling axis when the panic safeguard is activated.

A passage gate of the aforementioned kind is known from DE 19857611 Al. Said passage gate is characterized in that an actuating element in the form of a knob protruding from the top of the vertical tube serves to actuate the locking member and is designed to either block the swiveling piece or allow it to be pivotable. Furthermore, said passage gate is lockable. The locking mechanism is equipped with a lock for this purpose. When this lock is unlocked, the position of the locking member can be changed by actuating the knob; if, however, the lock is locked, it is no longer possible to change the position of the locking member. Said lock is incorporated into a bearing piece that is directly or indirectly connected to the support piece and acts on rod that connects the knob to the locking member. 1 I 2 Further lockable checkout gates of, for the most part, comparable function are known from the German registered design 7713093 and the European patent application 0849432. In the case of the passage gate from the German registered design 7713093, the 5 lock is incorporated into a handle that projects sideways from the tube-shaped swiveling piece and is permanently connected to a sleeve located in the annulus between the tube-shaped support piece and the swiveling tube enclosing the support piece. Provided the lock is unlocked, the sleeve can be displaced along the swiveling axis by means of the handle in order to either block or unblock the swiveling part depending on the position of 10 the sleeve. In the case of the passage gate from the European patent application 0849432, the respective lock is mounted within a cap that is accommodated within the upper end of a swiveling piece taking the form of a swiveling tube and is movable lengthwise along its axis. This cap, which is moveable along the swiveling axis, is connected to a sleeve that forms part of the locking device and which, in the locked state, connects the swiveling 15 tube and the intermediate member in a manner that prevents rotation.

Each of the three passage gates acknowledged above have in common the disadvantage that they are hardly, or not at all, suitable for housing the assembly comprising the support piece and the swiveling piece; in each case the element whose function it is to 20 change the position of the locking member, be it a knob (cf. DE 19857611 Al), a handle (cf. DE 7713093 Ul) or a cap (cf. EP 0849432 Al), must remain freely accessible so as to be able to be actuated by the operator. Furthermore, the operation of the known passage gates does not fully satisfy the requirements in the field in so far as it is somewhat relatively awkward or complicated to change the position of the door leaf 25 when the lock of the checkout gate is locked. Namely, the lock must first be unlocked before, in a second step, the blocking of the swiveling piece can be disabled through interaction with the associated actuating member.

In light of the above-described state of the art, the object of the present invention is to 30 provide a generic kind of passage gate that is specifically suitable for housing the assembly comprising the support piece and the swiveling piece and that can be designed to be especially user-friendly.

( I 3 This object has been achieved according to the present invention in that the locking mechanism is provided with a stationary actuating element that rests on a stationary holder and acts upon the locking member via a coupling device in order to displace the locking member along the swiveling axis. The most important aspect of the inventive 5 passage gate is, in other words, that said actuating element, which acts on the locking member to change its position and thereby change the state of the locking member, must itself not be movable and/or pivotable in any way but rather be located in a stationary position. The stationary holder, whose function it is to support the actuating element, absorbs the reaction forces or reaction moments generated as a result of the displacement 10 of the locking member by the actuating element. The passage gate according to the present invention therefore does not require any kind of freely-accessible actuating element that is movable parallel to the swiveling axis in order to block the position of the door leaf, or to disable the blocking thereof. Instead, the actuating element provided in the present invention is stationary and so does not prevent the assembly comprising the 15 support piece and the swiveling piece from being housed. Moreover, as described in more detail below, resting the actuating element on a stationary holder makes it possible, for example, for the locking mechanism to be actuated by an electromechanical unit, this being especially advantageous in terms of ease-of-operation.

In a first advantageous embodiment of the invention, the coupling device is provided with a sliding element which is acted upon by the stationary actuating element and is moveable in the direction of the swiveling axis. Said sliding element can, in particular, take the form of a sleeve that is moveable on the support piece, especially a support tube, and, in a particularly advantageous extension of the present invention, is located outside 25 the area where the swiveling piece encloses the support piece. This allows the stationary actuating element to act upon the sliding sleeve with minimal design complexity, namely in the case where the assembly comprising the support piece and the swiveling piece is enclosed.

In a further advantageous extension of the invention, the support piece rests in the region of its two ends on a mounting plate which extends in a plane parallel to the swiveling axis and is provided with two bracket-like holders. In particular, the stationary actuating element can also rest on the mounting plate or a bracket-like holder associated with the 4 mounting plate. This extension too is particular advantageous with respect to ease-of-mounting in the case where the assembly comprising the support piece and the swiveling piece is enclosed.

For the same reasons, it is found to be particularly advantageous when at least one connecting piece, by means of which the door leaf is fixed to the swiveling piece, is angled in such a way that the swiveling axis maintains a prescribed clearance from the plane of the door leaf.

As far as the design of the stationary actuating element is concerned, several possibilities exist depending on the requirements. In an especially advantageous extension of the invention, the actuating element is provided with a cylinder lock behind which is located a cam that acts, for example, on the aforementioned sliding sleeve. In this case, actuation of the locking member occurs directly via the lock. This is especially advantageous with regard to operation because, unlike the state-of-the-art from DE 19857611 Al and DE 7713093 Ul, unlocking of the lock and disabling of the blocking of the swiveling piece involves, in this case, just a single operation. This extension reliably, and at minimal cost, precludes manipulation of the passage gate by unauthorized persons.

In the context of the present invention, it is by no means essential that the stationary actuating element itself be accessible to the operator. Rather, it is for example conceivable that a stationary actuating element of electromechanical design, which especially may be provided with an electromagnet, is not readily accessible. In this case the blocking of the swiveling piece could be disabled by suitable loading of the electromechanical actuating element, for example by connecting the relevant electromagnet to the electronics of the cash register associated with the passage gate. When the till is switched on, the electromagnet automatically actuates the locking member is such a way that the passage gate can readily be opened.

Further especially advantageous extensions of the inventive passage gate are characterized in that the panic safeguard acts between the intermediate piece and the swiveling piece and/or in that the coupling device comprises a rod located in the interior of the support piece. Both characteristics are advantageous in view of the especially compact design of the assembly comprising the support piece and the swiveling piece, which, with its low space requirements, facilities housing of the assembly.

The present invention will now be illustrated in more detail by reference to the two 5 examples shown in the drawing.

Fig. 1 shows, in perspective view, a first embodiment of the passage gate in accordance with the present invention, Fig. 2 shows, also in perspective view, a passage gate as per Fig. 1 that is installed in a checkout table, and Fig. 3 shows, again in a perspective, partly cut-out view, a second embodiment of the passage gate in accordance with the present invention.

The assembly (5) reproduced in Fig. 1, comprising the support piece (1) in the form of a support tube (2) and the swiveling piece (3) in the form of a swiveling tube (4), is, with 15 regard to its important structural characteristics, for the most part identical in design to the passage gate from DE 19857611 Al. To understand the passage gate depicted in the drawing, the reader is thus referred to the aforementioned publication except where the following discussion of the differences deviates therefrom.

The assembly 5, comprising the support tube 2 and the swiveling tube 4, is fitted within a specific holder 7 for the purpose of mounting said assembly onto a vertical wall 6. Said holder comprises a mounting plate 9 parallel to the swiveling axis 8 of the swiveling tube 4 and three bracket-like holders 10,11, 12. The upper end 13 and the lower end 14 of the support tube 2 fit into the upper holder 10 and the lower holder 11 respectively.

The third holder 12 extends sideways from the mounting plate 9. Affixed within said holder is a lock 15 that serves as an actuating element 16 for the locking mechanism. The lock 15 acts, via a cam 17, upon a sliding sleeve 18 which is fitted to the support tube in the area where the support tube 2 is not enclosed by the swiveling tube 4, said sliding 30 sleeve being moveable parallel to the swiveling axis 8 of the swiveling tube. The sliding sleeve 18 is connected to the locking member of the locking mechanism via a rod located within the support tube (cf. DE 19857611 Al); two elongated holes 19 are provided in the support tube to allow the connecting pins that connect the sliding sleeve 18 with the 6 aforementioned rod to slot in. The holder 12, which serves as a stationary support for the lock 15, absorbs the reaction forces generated by the locking mechanism on account of its construction when the lock is actuated.

The lock 15 simultaneously unlocks and actuates the locking mechanism. To unblock the blocked swiveling piece 3, the key associated with the lock is turned 90° whereupon the locking member disengages from its locked-in position thereby allowing the door leaf 20 to be pivoted in the desired direction. After just a portion of the swiveling movement, the key can be turned back and removed. Once the pivoting movement is complete, the 10 locking member engages in a second lock-in position at the new position of the swiveling tube 4 as a result of its loading by means of a pretensioned spring (cf. DE 1985761 Al) and blocks in that position both the swiveling tube 4 and the door leaf 20. As an alternative to preloading by means of a spring, suitable modification of the design would allow engagement of the locking member at both final positions of the door leaf 20 by 15 gravitational forces alone. If required, engagement of the locking member can be restricted to a single position of the door leaf, namely the position which blocks access to the passage.

The two connecting pieces 21, by means of which the door leaf is fixed to the swiveling 20 tube 4, are angled in such a way that the swiveling axis 8 maintains a prescribed clearance from the plane of the door leaf 20.

Fig. 2 shows a checkout table equipped with an integrated passage gate which again comprises the assembly illustrated in Fig. 1. Said assembly is mounted to the body 22 of 25 the checkout table, namely on the inner face of its right-hand side wall, by means of the mounting plate 9 shown in Fig. 1. On its front side, the checkout table has several doors 23a, 23b which can be secured by means of a lock 24. The door 23a on the far right, behind which is located the mechanical assembly of the passage gate, features two horizontal elongated holes 25 arranged one above the other whose purpose it is to allow 30 the connecting pieces 21 supporting the door leaf 20 to project through the door. The lock 15 (see above) is accessible through a drilled hole 26 located in the same door. The locking mechanism can be simultaneously unlocked and actuated in the manner described above by means of an associated key 27. 7 Fig. 2 shows the door leaf 20 in the position that blocks the passage 28 adjacent to the checkout table 22. When the door leaf 20 is pivoted into the position that allows free passage, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the door 23a of the checkout table 22 can be opened. This provides access to the checkout table's storage space behind door 23a and especially the 5 passage gate assembly also housed therein.

The passage gate shown in Fig. 3 corresponds, with respect to its important design characteristics, to that in Fig. 1. To avoid repetition, we refer the reader to the discussion of the passage gate shown in Fig. 1. The differences relate in particular to the mounting 10 method and the locking mechanism.

As far as the support of the support tube 2 is concerned, the design as per Fig. 2 has been provided with two bearing blocks 29 each of which is screwed to the mounting plate 9' by means of two screws 30 and into which the upper and lower ends of the support tube 2 15 fit. The bent ends 31 of the mounting plate 9' are not intended to support the support tube, but rather permit additional fastening of the mounting plate 9' to suitable faces of the body of the checkout table so that a particularly stable fastening of the mounting plate 9' onto three surfaces of the checkout table is achieved. Furthermore, this mounting design has special advantages with respect to the laying of electrical cables whereby they 20 can be fed into the top and/or the bottom of the support tube without hindrance.

The passage gate as per Fig. 3 is equipped with an electromechanical locking mechanism comprising an electromagnet 32 incorporated into a drilled hole 33 in a mounting ring 34, the latter being fastened within the supporting tube 2, specifically in the lower section of 25 said supporting tube. The electromagnet 32 acts on a rod 35 that is connected to a bolt 36 that can be moved vertically within the two elongated holes 37 provided in the support tube 2. A rubber vibration damper 38 is integrated into the rod in order to buffer any knocks.

Finally, Fig. 3 also shows an electronic control unit 39 which is fastened to a plug 40 used to seal off the upper end of the support tube 2, thereby allowing it to be housed in a space-saving and protected manner inside the support tube 2.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z.

Claims

Claims

8

2 3 NOV 2005 RECEIVED

l.

5

10

15
2.

20

25

4.

Passage gate, especially a passage gate for persons, comprising a stationary support piece, a swiveling piece which is rotatable thereabout and to which a door leaf is fixed via at least one connecting piece, an intermediate member that is also rotatable relative to the support piece, a panic safeguard which acts between the intermediate member and the swiveling piece or support piece, and a locking member that acts between the intermediate member and the support piece or the swiveling piece, is part of a locking mechanism, and is moveable in the direction of the swiveling axis between two positions, the swiveling piece being blocked in one of said positions while being pivotable in the other position, wherein the locking mechanism is provided with a stationary actuating element which rests on a stationary holder and acts upon the locking member via a coupling device in order to displace the locking member along the swiveling axis.

Passage gate in accordance with claim 1, wherein the coupling device comprises a sliding element which is acted upon by the stationary actuating element and is movable in the direction of the swivelling axis.

Passage gate in accordance with claim 2, wherein said sliding element takes the form of a sliding sleeve which is located outside the area in which the swivelling piece encloses the support piece.

Passage gate in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein said gate has been provided with a mounting plate which extends along a plane parallel to the swiveling axis and upon which rests the support piece in the area of its two ends.

5. Passage gate in accordance with 4, wherein the actuating element rests on a holder located on the mounting plate.

9

6. Passage gate in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein at least one connecting piece by means of which the door leaf is fixed to the swivelling piece is angled in such a way that the swivelling axis maintains a 5 prescribed clearance from the plane of the door leaf.

7. Passage gate in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the actuating element comprises a cylinder lock behind which is attached a cam.

10

8. Passage gate in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 7, wherein the panic safeguard acts between the intermediate piece and the swivelling piece.

15 9. Passage gate in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 8, wherein the coupling device comprises a rod located in the interior of the support piece.

10. Passage gate in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 9, wherein the locking member is preloaded, either by means of a spring element and/or 20 gravity, in at least one lock-in position that blocks the swivelling piece.

11. Passage gate in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 10, wherein the actuating element is of electromechanical design.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF NZ

2 3 NOV 2005 RECEIVED