Locking device for pedestrian gates

Abstract

A locking device (100) for pedestrian gates, comprising a movable member (1), in which the movable member (1) is constrained to rotate around a shaft (2) and is intended to obstruct the passage through a pedestrian passageway; the device (100) comprises a locking assembly (5) capable of assuming a rest position, in which it is disengaged from the shaft (2), and a locking position in which it is engaged with the shaft (2) to lock the movable member (1), an actuator (7) coupled with the locking assembly (5) and configured for passing the locking assembly (5) from the rest position to the locked position when it is powered, and a control unit (201) configured to supply the actuator. The locking assembly (5) is arranged to move around the locked position when the shaft (2) is urged to rotate. Sensors (9) are provided for detecting the position of the locking assembly (5), connected to the control unit (201), so that, when the locking assembly (5) is in the locked position and is moved beyond a first predefined value, following a rotation of the shaft (2), the sensors (9) detect their movement and the control unit (201) interrupts the actuator supply (7).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates generally to a locking device for pedestrian gates.

[0002] In particular, the invention relates to an electromechanical device, which can be installed in all modern gates used to control the flow of people in an area and / or the accesses to it, capable of locking or unlocking the opening of the movable elements of the gate according to the force with which these elements are moved by a user.

[0003] The currently used pedestrian gates usually have an external frame, which contains and supports the mechanical and electronic components of the system.

[0004] The actual moving parts can be of the most varied types, for example, with tripod, swiveling, sliding, with wing door, full height, etc.

[0005] These gates typically allow the passage of users, towards one or the other direction, only if they possess certain requisites, for example an identification badge in the case of access to offices or events, or a valid ticket in the case of access to public transport.

[0006] On the other hand, it may happen that, during particular events or in response to specific needs, these gates are used more to control the speed of flows of people, rather than to restrict access, i.e. as a kind of temporary, non-permanent barrier.

[0007] In other words, sometimes there may be the need to open the gates for a certain time, even if the users do not have the required authorizations, such as in the case of malfunctions of the identification systems, or in case of emergency, as in the case of an evacuation of the controlled area, to allow an easier and faster transfer of people. For this to happen, an external intervention is almost always necessary, either by the surveillance personnel possibly present near the transit areas, or by a remote intervention of the control personnel.

[0008] It is easy to imagine, however, that it is not always possible to implement these operations quickly and easily, due to the numerous and unpredictable factors that can intervene in such situations, for example the visibility, the number of users and / or of security personnel present, the speed of response of the electronic and mechanical systems of the gates themselves and that of the infrastructures connected to them.

[0009] Therefore, the need to have a solution that allows easier management of the opening of the pedestrian gates currently in use, and in particular in relation to the control of the variation of flows of people through them, appears clear. US 4 155 199 A discloses an example of a locking device for pedestrian gates.

[0010] The present invention has the main objective of overcoming the mentioned drawbacks, by means of an innovative device having a double function and so as to prevent the opening of the movable members of a gate in a selective manner; in fact, according to the intensity of the force with which these movable members are moved or pushed or in any case set in motion by a user when crossing the gate, the device according to the invention acts by blocking or allowing this movement.

[0011] More in detail, such locking device comprises an integrated electromechanical system to an electronic control system: the electronic system monitors over time the position of the movable members of the gate and, when it detects an attempt to force the opening, it activates a mechanism which locks the movement of such mobile members.

[0012] This mechanism includes elements that allow the movement and therefore the opening of the movable members beyond a certain limit value applied. The object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a locking device for a pedestrian gate that can operate such gate as a temporary non-permanent barrier, in addition to the normally used operating mode.

[0013] A second aim of the invention is to facilitate the management and control of flows of people through an area.

[0014] Another objective of the invention is to create a device that fulfills the aforementioned tasks and is both easy and inexpensive to produce and install, given the advantages achieved.

[0015] These and other purposes are achieved by a locking device for pedestrian gates according to attached claim 1; further technical characteristics and advantages of the invention are included in the dependent claims.

[0016] The present invention will now be described, by way of example but not of limitation, according to some of its preferred embodiments and with the aid of the attached figures, in which: figure 1 shows a perspective view of an assembly of an embodiment of the locking device according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective detail view of the assembly of Figure 1; figure 3 shows a view from above of the detail of figure 2.

[0017] With reference to Figure 1, an assembly is depicted comprising a locking device 100 according to the invention and installable in a pedestrian gate or passageway; in this embodiment the movable members 1 of the opening are hinged doors.

[0018] The device acts by blocking the movement of the movable members themselves and more precisely by preventing their rotation around a shaft 2.

[0019] In fact, both a pinion 3, coaxially, and the movable member 1 are mounted onto this shaft 2 with fixing means 101; a locking head 4 is positioned near the pinion 3 itself, in this case equipped with teeth 401 which can mesh with the teeth 301 of the pinion 3 to ensure the seal between the contact surfaces.

[0020] As can be seen in Figures 2 and 3, in the preferred variant the locking head 4 is in turn supported by a first end portion 51 of a modular bar 5, equipped in addition with an intermediate portion 52 and a second end portion 53, all connected consecutively to each other by means of suitable joints 54, 55, for example by means of screws, bolts or other suitable fixing means; in this way, the different sections of the bar 5 remain constrained to rotate around the hinges located at the first and second joints 54 and 55.

[0021] Continuing, the first terminal portion 51 is constrained to slide, along a direction perpendicular to that of the axis of the shaft 2, inside a guide 6 fixed to a fastening point 60, so that the teeth 401 of the head 4 can reversibly engage the teeth 301 of the pinion 3.

[0022] In an alternative embodiment, the bar 5 may be constituted by a single element, for example made of flexible material so as it can be bended, and having a substantially equivalent function.

[0023] An actuator 7, operated for example by an switch of the electromagnetic solenoid-type, controls the raising and lowering of a pin 70 connected to the second joint 55 between the intermediate portion 52 and the second end portion 53.

[0024] This actuator 7 is therefore capable of varying the position of the second joint 55 according to whether the coil of the solenoid is subjected to current or not; in this way the bar 5 and the actuator 7 create a kinematic chain with one degree of freedom, since the change in position of the actuator 7 results in a sliding of the first end portion 51 of the bar 5, and therefore of the head 4, in one way or the other inside the guide 6.

[0025] In an adjacent position to the bar 5 and integrally fixed to the frame 71 which contains the actuator 7, there is an armature 72; its end 721 is connected to one or more springs or thrust means 8, connected in turn to the movable member supporting frame, which is fixed.

[0026] In this way, when the actuator 7 engages the head 4 and the pinion 3, through the respective toothed surfaces 401 and 301, the various bodies described up to now create a mechanism which transmits the applied force from the movable member 1 to the springs 8.

[0027] More in detail, in fact, while the head 4 engages the pinion 3, a possible attempt to set the movable member 1 in rotation, and therefore the pinion 3 since both are integral with the shaft 2, generates a torque on the bar 5; this force is transmitted, via the actuator 7 and its frame 71, to the armature 72, which acts as a first class lever in which the resistant force is applied by the springs 8 and opposes the rotation of the shaft 2 and, then, the movable member 1 opening.

[0028] Close to and in any case connected to the springs 8 there is a sensor 9, equipped with connection terminals 91 to an electronic control system, which, when a sufficient force is applied to the movable member 1, causes the actuator 7 to be released; the head 4, therefore, disengages the pinion 3, allowing the movement of the shaft 2 and, consequently, that of the movable member 1 itself.

[0029] The value of the resistant force of the springs 8, and therefore also the value of the force that can be withstood by the movable member 1 before the sensor 9 intervenes, can be varied at will by the action on a screw 81.

[0030] Similarly, the intervention of the sensor 9 allowing the opening of the movable members 1 can be subordinated, in addition to the force applied to the movable member 1, also or exclusively to other parameters, such as the angle of rotation imparted to the movable member 1 itself by a user.

[0031] From the present description all the technical characteristics of the locking device for pedestrian gates according to the invention are clear, just as the advantages are clear; finally, it is clear that numerous modifications can be made to the embodiments described up to now, without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. Locking device (100) for pedestrian gates, comprising: - a movable member (1) connected to a fixed supporting frame, said movable member (1) being constrained to rotate around a shaft (2) and being intended to obstruct the passage through a pedestrian gate, - a pinion or toothed wheel (3) keyed onto said shaft (2), - a bar (5) capable of assuming a rest position in which it is disengaged from said shaft (2) and a locking position in which it is engaged with said shaft (2) to lock said movable member (1), said bar (5) comprising a head (4) configured to engage or disengage said pinion (3) following the passage of said bar (5) from said rest position to said locking position, or vice versa, - an actuator (7), coupled with said bar (5) and configured to bring said bar (5) from said rest position to said locking position when said actuator (7) is powered, and - a control unit (201) configured to supply power to said actuator (7), characterized in that said bar (5) is arranged along a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of said shaft (2) and is arranged so as to move around said locking position when said shaft (2) is urged to rotate, and in that said locking device (100) also comprises: - an armature (72) which is placed adjacent to said bar (5) and which is integrally fixed to a frame (71) containing said actuator (7), said armature (72) having an end (721) which is connected to one or more springs (8) connected in turn to said fixed supporting frame, and - sensors (9) for detecting the position of said bar (5) which are close to and connected to said one or more springs (8) and which are equipped with connection terminals (91) to be connected to said control unit (201), so that, when said head (4) engages said pinion (3), a possible attempt to set said movable member (1) in rotation generates a torque on said bar (5) which is transmitted, via said actuator (7) and said frame (71) containing said actuator (7), to said armature (72) and to said one or more springs (8), said armature (72) acting as a first class lever in which the resistant force is applied by said one or more springs (8) and opposing the rotation of said shaft (2) and the movable member (1) opening, said sensors (9) detecting the movement of the bar (5) when it is moved beyond a first predefined value when a force having a value greater than a predefined value is applied to said movable member (1) and said control unit (201) interrupting the supply power of said actuator (7), causing said actuator (7) to be released, which causes the head (4) disengage the pinion (3), thus allowing the movement of said shaft (2) and of said movable member (1).

2. Locking device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that said predefined value is established by acting on a screw (81) connected to said sensors (9).

3. Locking device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that said bar (5) is constituted by a single element.

4. Locking device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that said bar (5) comprises a first end portion (51), an intermediate portion (52) connected to said first end portion (51) and to a second end portion (53) respectively by means of a first and a second joint (54, 55), said first end portion (51) facing towards said pinion (3) and being constrained to slide in a guide (6) so as to allow said head (4) to engage or disengage said pinion (3) when said bar (5) passes from said rest position to said blocking position or vice versa.

5. Locking device (100) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said actuator (7) is operated by an electromagnetic solenoid-type switch.

6. Locking device (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that said actuator (7) controls the raising and lowering of a pin (70) which is connected to said second joint (55) between said intermediate portion (52) and said second end portion (53) of said bar (5), said actuator (7) being capable of varying the position of said second joint (55) according to whether the coil of said solenoid-type switch is subjected to current or not.

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