An automatic passage gate

Abstract

 An automatic passage gate for allowing or preventing people to enter or to exit a specific area, such as a shopping area or a store, is provided. The automatic passage gate comprises a gate arm (110) connected to a drum (120), and a drive unit (150) connected to said drum (120), by means of a coupling (160), for causing a rotational movement of said drum (120), wherein said drive unit (150) and said coupling (160) are arranged within said drum (120).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic passage gate. More particularly, the present invention relates to a swinging automatic passage gate for allowing or preventing people to enter or to exit a specific area, such as a shopping area or a store.

Background

[0002] Shopping areas are preferably equipped with gates for allowing or preventing customers from entering or exiting the shopping areas through the gates. For example, the checkout counters may be equipped with exit gates which are held open while the checkout counter is manned and closed when no checkout assistant is present. Automatic gates are normally opened immediately once the checkout counter is opened, and kept in this position as long as the checkout counter is operating. However, when the assistant closes the checkout counter the gate will automatically return to a closed position thus blocking the exit. People will thus not be allowed to leave the shopping area through that particular exit but instead they are directed to another checkout counter, i.e. a supervised exit.

[0003] Another example of an application for automatic passage gates is at automatic checkout counters by which the customer scans the objects to be purchased. The gate may thus be closed during the purchase, and opened only when the customer scans the receipt after payment. Consequently the gate opens upon purchase verification and is returned to its closed position immediately after.

[0004] Automatic passage gates may also be arranged at shopping area entrances. Such gates are normally configured to open when a person is entering the shopping area, while it is held closed when a person is trying to exit the shopping area through the entrance. In this way the customers are obliged to exit the shopping area through the check out counters whereby fraud and theft is prohibited.

[0005] Automatic passage gates having the functionality described above may also allow people to escape through the closed gate in case of emergency.

[0006] Examples of passage gates are described in EP0423016 and DE3308684.

[0007] One well known entry gate is the Alphagate MKII, made commercially available by the same applicant. The Alphagate MKII has a vertical stand supporting a horizontally extending gate arm. The gate arm is configured to rotate around the longitudinal axis of the vertical stand by means of a rotating drum to which the gate arm is fixedly connected. The rotating drum is inserted into the upper end of the vertical stand. A drive unit is further arranged at the lower end of the vertical stand. The drive unit includes an electrical motor providing a rotating output, via a clutch, to a rotating output shaft that extends vertically upwards and connects with the drum for causing a rotational movement of the drum upon activation of the electrical motor. The clutch makes it possible to force the gate to open upon emergency.

[0008] Although the Alphagate MKII has been very successful on the market there is a need for a less bulky gate being more versatile for allowing installations in narrow or otherwise space-saving areas.

Summary

[0009] Accordingly, the present invention preferably seeks to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies in the art and disadvantages singly or in any combination and solves at least the above-mentioned problems by providing a device according to the appended claims.

[0010] It is thus an object to provide an automatic passage gate having a more compact design.

[0011] According to a first aspect, an automatic passage gate for allowing or preventing people to enter or to exit a specific area, such as a shopping area or a store, is provided. The automatic passage gate comprises a gate arm connected to a drum, and a drive unit connected to said drum, by means of a coupling having an input member and an output member, for causing a rotational movement of said drum, wherein said drive unit and said coupling are arranged within said drum, and wherein the output member of said coupling is secured to said drum.

[0012] The drive unit may comprise an electrical motor, and the drive unit may further comprise a gear box arranged between said electrical motor and said coupling. This is advantageous in that automatic operation of the gate is provided in a robust, cost-effective and compact manner. Further, the provision of a gear box makes it possible to optimize the torque and speed of the electrical motor with regards to the desired speed of the gate arm.

[0013] The coupling may allow to disconnect said drum from the torque supplied by the drive unit upon the exertion of an external torque applied to the drum respectively of an external force applied to the gate arm.

[0014] The coupling may be a ball coupling, which is advantageous in that the dimensions of the automatic passage gate may be further decreased. Moreover, a ball coupling makes it very easy to adjust the maximum torque of the coupling.

[0015] At least one ball of said ball coupling may be spring biased, whereby an extremely simple and compact coupling is provided.

[0016] The automatic passage gate may further comprise a position sensor configured to determine an actual angular position of the gate arm. Hence, the gate may automatically be controlled to return to its requested idle position after forced opening or closing of the gate.

[0017] The drum may extend vertically and the gate arm may thus extend horizontally from said drum. Hence, the gate is very versatile for compliance with a large number of applications requiring control of people passing through an exit or an entrance.

[0018] According to a second aspect, use of an automatic passage gate according to the first aspect is provided.

[0019] According to a third aspect, a method for providing an automatic passage gate for allowing or preventing people to enter or exit a specific area, such as a shopping area or a store, is provided. The method comprises the steps of: connecting a gate arm to a drum, arranging a drive unit within said drum, and connecting said drive unit to said drum, by means of a coupling arranged within said drum, for causing a rotational movement of said drum wherein said step of connecting said drive unit to said drum comprises the step of securing an output member of said coupling to said drum.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0020] Hereinafter, the invention will be described with reference to a number of drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1a is a side view of an entry gate according to an embodiment;

Fig. 1b is a top view of the entry gate shown in Fig. 1a;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an entry gate according to an embodiment;

Fig. 3a is a cross-sectional view of a drum of an entry gate according to an embodiment;

Fig. 3b is an isometric view of the drum shown in Fig. 3a;

Fig. 4a is an isometric view of a first coupling member of an entry gate according to an embodiment;

Fig. 4b is an isometric view of a second coupling member of an entry gate according to an embodiment;

Fig. 4c is an isometric view of a third coupling member of an entry gate according to an embodiment;

Fig. 4d is a cross-sectional exploded view of the first coupling member, the second coupling member, and the third coupling member shown in Figs. 4a-c;

Fig. 5 a is a cross-sectional view of an upper bracket of an entry gate according to an embodiment;

Fig. 5b is an isometric view of a part of the upper bracket shown in Fig. 5a;

Fig. 5c is an isometric view of an upper bracket according to an embodiment; and

Fig. 6 is an isometric view of a lower bracket of an entry gate according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

[0021] In the following, various embodiments of an automatic passage gate will be described. Starting with Fig. 1a, an embodiment of an automatic passage gate 100 is shown. The gate 100 is configured to be arranged vertically, such that a gate arm 110 extends horizontally outwards from a vertical support 200. The gate arm 110 may e.g. have a shape of a lying U, whereby each leg of the U-shape is connected to the vertical support 200 at joints 202a, 202b, respectively. It will however be understood that other shapes and configurations of the gate arm are equally possible. Normally, a sign 112 is provided at the gate arm 110 for indicating the opening direction of the gate 100.

[0022] The operation of the passage gate 100 is further illustrated in Fig. 1b. As shown by the arrow, the passage gate 100 which is assumed to be installed at a checkout counter will open by swinging the gate arm 110 approximately 90° in the direction of the arrow for allowing people to exit the shopping area.

[0023] The passage gate 100 may be connected to a control unit (not shown) of the associated checkout counter, and which control unit is configured to open and close the gate automatically. On the other hand, the passage gate may in some embodiments be provided with an object sensor (not shown) for detecting the presence of an approaching object. The sensor may be a radar, a photocell, a push button, a barcode scanner, etc. The object may e.g. be a person, a trolley, etc. Upon detection by the sensor the gate arm 110 is automatically moved to an open position and urged to return to its closed position after a predetermined time, or at a time when the object sensor no longer senses the object.

[0024] The features of the automatic passage gate 100 are shown in further detail in Fig. 2. Similarly to Figs. 1a and 1b, the gate arm 110 is connected to the vertical support 200 at the joints 202a, 202b. The joints 202a, 202b forms part of a hollow drum 120 extending vertically from a lower bracket 130 to an upper bracket 140. A drive unit 150 is arranged inside the drum 120, and includes a tubular sleeve 156 housing an electrical motor 152 and a gear box 154 for reducing the rotational speed of the electrical motor 152. The output shaft of the drive unit 150 is driving a coupling 160 which is fixedly connected to the drum 120. Hence, upon activation of the drive unit 150 a rotation of the electrical motor 152 will cause a corresponding rotational movement of the drum 120 whereby the entry gate 100 opens. For improved performance ball bearings are provided between the tubular sleeve 156 of the drive unit 150 and the drum 120.

[0025] In Fig. 3a and 3b the drum 120 is shown in more details. The drum 120 has a cylindrical wall 122 and two joints 202a, 202b arranged at a lower and an upper position at its outer periphery. Close to the upper end of the cylindrical wall 122 a member 166 is provided, which is forming a part of the coupling 160 as will be described later.

[0026] Now referring to Figs. 4a-d, an embodiment of the coupling 160 is shown. The coupling 160 is provided in order to transmit rotational movement from the electrical motor 152 to the drum 120, but also to allow the passage gate 100 to open in case of emergency. For example, in case of fire inside a shopping area rapid evacuation of the people inside the shopping area is necessary. If sufficient force is applied to the passage gate arm 110 from the inside, i.e. when a person is running towards and into the closed gate arm 110 at a closed checkout counter, the coupling 160 will allow the drum 120 to slip relative the drive unit 150 so that the passage gate 100 is opened. The slip of the coupling will always occur when someone is urging the gate from its idle position. For example, if the gate is closed and configured to open inwardly, it will be possible to open the gate outwardly by applying a sufficient force to the gate arm in the outward direction. Also, if the gate is closed and configured to open outwardly, it will be possible to manually open the gate outwardly by applying a sufficient force to the gate arm in the outward direction.

[0027] Before turning to the details of the coupling 160 a brief explanation of the emergency functionality will be given. The automatic passage gate 100 is provided with a position sensor determining the actual angular position of the drum 120. The actual angular position is transmitted to a controller, either arranged within the vertical support 200 or arranged remotely from the gate 100. The controller compares the actual angular position with an idle position corresponding to a desired reference angle (e.g. 0° when the gate 100 is closed and 90° when the gate 100 is open). If the actual angular position deviates from the desired reference angle a torque is automatically applied by the electrical motor 152 of the drive unit 150 for returning the drum 120 to its idle position. Hence, the coupling 160 is adjusted to decouple the drive unit 150 from the drum 120 at a torque being less than the maximum torque of the electrical motor 152.

[0028] The controller is configured to perform such comparison at regular intervals, or the comparison may be triggered by movement of the drum 120.

[0029] A preferred coupling 160 is shown in Fig. 4a-d. The coupling 160 includes three members, i.e. a center member 162, shown in Fig. 4a, a lower member 164, shown in Fig. 4b, and an upper member 166, shown in Fig. 4c. The upper member 166 is preferably welded to the drum 120 as is shown in Fig. 3. Moreover, in particular embodiments the center member 162 is formed integrally with the lower member 164. Hence, the lower member 164 and the center member 162 form an input member 168, i.e. a member which always rotates with the drive unit 150. Correspondingly, the upper member 166 forms an output member 169, i.e. a member which transfers the rotational movement of the input member 168 to the drum 120.

[0030] The lower member 164 is arranged adjacent to the tubular sleeve 156 of the drive unit 150 via a roller bearing (not shown) and has a central portion 1642 for receiving the output shaft of the electrical motor 152 and the gear box 154. Further, through holes 1641 are disposed radially outwards of the central portion 1642 for attaching the lower member 164 to the center member 162.

[0031] The center member 162 has a disc shape and includes three bores 1621, each bore 1621 is adopted for receiving a spring biased ball 1625. Hence, each ball 1625 rests on a compression spring 1624 arranged within the bore 1621. Further to this the center member 162 has on its lower side threaded bores 1623 for receiving screws inserted through the through holes 1641 of the lower member 164.

[0032] The upper member 166, i.e. the output member 169, is secured to the drum 120, preferably by welding, and engages with the center member 162 by means of recesses 1661 dimensioned in such way that they are capable of receiving a portion of the ball 1625. A through hole 1662 is provided at the center of the upper member 166 for allowing tightening of the upper member 166 in an axial direction relative the center member 162. Additionally, bores 1663 are provided for allowing electrical components, such as electrical circuits, the controller connected to the position sensor, power supply, etc to be attached within the vertical support 200. As is shown in Fig. 4c the shape of the upper member 166 corresponds to a truncated circle which is advantageous in that electrical cables may be guided from the electrical components attached to the upper member 166 to the position sensor arranged at the upper bracket 140.

[0033] Preferably, the number of recesses 1661 is higher than the number of bores 1621. In a preferred embodiment, three bores 1621 are provided at a distance of 120° while six recesses 1661 are provided at a distance of 60°.

[0034] Since the drive unit 150 always is trying to return the drum 120 to its idle position, the coupling 160 described above disengages the drum 120 from the drive unit 150 upon the application of a sufficient external rotational force to the drum 120. In such case there will be two counteracting torques applied to the drum: one external trying to force the drum away from its idle position, and one torque from the electrical motor 152 trying to return the drum to its idle position. If the external torque is exceeding the maximum torque of the coupling 160, the upper member 166 will force the balls 1625 to move downwards thus compressing the springs 1624. When the balls 1625 have moved sufficiently downwards the upper member 166 may slip relative the center member 162 until the springs 1624 urges the balls 1625 upwards into the next recesses 1661. This procedure is thus repeated until the external force exceeding the maximum torque of the coupling 160 is removed from the entry gate 100.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment the decoupling (or detection of deviation between the actual angular position of the drum 120 and the desired idle position) is associated with an alarm for notifying assistants or other service personnel of the abnormal gate position.

[0036] Now turning to Fig. 5a and 5b the upper bracket of the entry gate 100 is shown. The upper bracket 140 includes a lid 142 for the vertical support 200 as well as the position sensor 144 for determining an actual angular position of the gate arm 110. The position sensor 144 is preferably utilized in order to assure that the entry gate arm 110 is always returning to its correct idle position. The position sensor 144 has the shape of a circular disc including a protrusive pattern 145. At least one light source, preferably three light sources, is arranged as an electrical component onto the upper member 166 in order to emit light across the position sensor 144 to a detector (not shown) arranged on the opposite side of the protrusive pattern 145. Hence, the position sensor 144 is an optical angle sensor, or an angled fork sensor for accurately determining the actual angular position of the drum 120 relative the upper bracket 140.

[0037] A roller bearing (not shown) is provided between the upper bracket 140 and the drum 120 for ensuring smooth rotation of the drum 120 relative the upper bracket 140.

[0038] In a further embodiment, the position sensor 144 is instead arranged onto the upper member 166 of the coupling, whereby the electrical components are moved from the upper member 166 of the coupling 160 to the upper bracket 140. Such modification would also require a rotation of the position sensor by 180° around its vertical axis such that light, coming from the light sources on the lower side of the upper bracket 140, interferes with the protrusive pattern 145 of the position sensor 144.

[0039] This is particularly advantageous in that the electrical cables connected to the electrical components may be guided out from the upper bracket 140 directly, for further connection to a control unit. Hence, rotation of the electrical cables upon rotation of the drum 120 is avoided, which otherwise may induce damage or wear to the cables.

[0040] Fig. 5c shows the configuration of the upper bracket 240 according to such embodiment. The upper bracket 240 has an interior space 241 for accommodating the light sources and the electronics of the position sensor, as well as a space 243 for guiding cables and electrical connections out from the passage gate 100 to a suitable power supply and other electronic components. The light sources may be angularly adjusted with respect to the upper bracket 240 for allowing a fast and reliable alignment of the reference position of the gate, i.e. the position where the gate is in a closed position. Such adjustment is preferably provided by means of a tightening screw 245, accessible from the outside of the outer bracket 240, and insertable into the upper bracket 240 for engaging with the support 247 for the light sources of the position sensor, Hence, by loosening the tightening screw 245 it is possible to rotate the support 247 and thus also rotating the light sources of the position sensor.

[0041] The lower bracket 130 is shown in Fig. 6. Fastening bores 132 are provided for securely attaching the tubular sleeve 156 of the drive unit 150 to the lower bracket 130, as well as radial bores 134 for allowing the entire entry gate 100 to be attached directly to a wall, or to any kind of rigid support such as tubes etc.

[0042] It will be appreciated that the embodiments described in the foregoing may be combined without departing from the scope as defined by the appended patent claims.

[0043] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. Rather, the invention is limited only by the accompanying claims and other embodiments than the specific above are equally possible within the scope of these appended claims.

[0044] In the claims, the term "comprises/comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps. Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means, elements or method steps may be implemented by e.g. a single unit or processor. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different claims, these may possibly advantageously be combined, and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous. In addition, singular references do not exclude a plurality. The terms "a", "an", "first", "second" etc do not preclude a plurality. Reference signs in the claims are provided merely as a clarifying example and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims in any way.

Claims

1. An automatic passage gate for allowing or preventing people to enter or to exit a specific area, such as a shopping area or a store, said automatic passage gate comprising
a gate arm (110) connected to a drum (120), and
a drive unit (150) connected to said drum (120), by means of a coupling (160) having an input member (168) and an output member (169) stacked vertically, for causing a rotational movement of said drum (120), wherein
said drive unit (150) and said coupling (160) are arranged within said drum (120), and wherein
said output member (169) of said coupling (160) is secured to said drum (120).

2. The automatic passage gate according to claim 1, wherein said drive unit (150) comprises an electrical motor (152).

3. The automatic passage gate according to claim 2, wherein said drive unit (150) further comprises a gear box (154) arranged between said electrical motor (152) and said coupling (160).

4. The automatic passage gate according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said coupling (160) allows to disconnect said drum (120) from the torque supplied by the drive unit (150) upon the exertion of an external torque applied to the drum (120) respectively of an external force applied to the gate arm (110).

5. The automatic passage gate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said coupling (160) is a ball coupling.

6. The automatic passage gate according to claim 5, wherein at least one ball (1625) of said ball coupling (160) is spring biased.

7. The automatic passage gate according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a position sensor (144) configured to determine an actual angular position of the gate arm (110).

8. The automatic passage gate according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said drum (120) is extending vertically and said gate arm (110) is extending horizontally from said drum (120).

9. Use of an automatic passage gate according to any of the preceding claims.

10. A method for providing an automatic passage gate for allowing or preventing people to enter or exit a specific area, such as a shopping area or a store, said method comprising the steps of:

connecting a gate arm to a drum,

arranging a drive unit within said drum, and

connecting said drive unit to said drum, by means of a coupling arranged within said drum, for causing a rotational movement of said drum, wherein said step of connecting said drive unit to said drum comprises the step of securing an output member of said coupling to said drum, which output member is stacked vertically relative an input member of the coupling.

Drawing