EP3867469B1

EP3867469B1 - Security sliding gate

Info

Publication number: EP3867469B1
Application number: EP18797134.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Timothy MESSELIS
Original assignee: Guardiar Europe BVBA
Current assignee: Guardiar Europe BVBA
Priority date: 2018-10-16
Filing date: 2018-10-16
Publication date: 2022-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-16
Also published as: EP3867469A1; WO2020079468A1

Description

This invention relates to a sliding gate comprising a first gate part and a second gate part, at least one of said gate parts being slidably movable with respect to the other one between an open position and a closed position, and a locking device for maintaining each movable gate part in the closed position.
This invention in particular relates to a security sliding gate or a high impact sliding gate which is provided to prevent access to a particular area or to a building, and which is able to withstand a considerable direct impact on it by vehicles or tools or by any other means.
This invention more particularly relates to sliding gates with a total length of at least 10 m, preferably at least 25 m.
In the open position, the first and second gate parts are placed in a position in which their respective end sides are at an intermediate distance away from one another, leaving a free passage in between the gate parts through which people and/or vehicles can access the restricted area or building. In the closed position, the first and second gate parts are adjoining or very close to one another and are closing off the passage to the restricted area or building. In a possible embodiment, only one of the gate parts, for example the first gate part, is slidably movable with respect to the second gate part which is not slidably movable. The second gate part may for example be a fixed part of the gate, such as a post or a fence element or any fixed structure such as a wall. The second gate part may also be hingedly coupled to any fixed supporting structure.
In a preferred embodiment the sliding gate comprises a first and a second part which are both slidably movable with respect to one another.
Document EP 128 248 A1 discloses a a sliding gate with a first gate part and a second gate part and a locking device for maintaining each movable gate part in the closed position. The locking device comprises two first locking bodies attached to the first gate part, and, contrary to the present invention, a single second locking body, attached to the second gate part. This known sliding gate further comprises a securing element, such that, when the gate parts are in the closed position, the securing element passes through passages of the first locking bodies and the single second, locking body.
The crash resistance of the existing sliding gates is not satisfactory. Especially when the sliding gates have a length exceeding 10 m, a heavy and direct impact on the sliding gate results in forces which break the locking device or severely damage the sliding gate and/or its supporting structure so that the passage to the restricted area or building is not closed off anymore.
The object of this invention is to provide a sliding gate having the features indicated in the first paragraph of this description, with an improved crash resistance.
This object is achieved by providing a sliding gate comprising a first gate part and a second gate part, at least one of said gate parts being slidably movable with respect to the other one between an open position and a closed position, and a locking device for maintaining each movable gate part in the closed position, in which, according to this invention, the locking device comprises

more than one first locking body integral with, or attached to, the first gate part, said first locking body defining a first passage,
more than one second locking body integral with, or attached to, the second gate part, said second locking body defining a second passage, and
a securing element,

Each gate part of this sliding gate comprises a respective locking body and the two locking bodies preferably are provided on different levels (at different heights above the surface on which the sliding gate is mounted). The securing element can be placed in a position extending through the respective passages defined by these locking bodies and interconnecting the two gate parts. A force exerted on the front side of the sliding gate (the front side is the side at the outside of the restricted area or building) is transmitted to the securing element by the respective first and second locking bodies and results in two forces acting on the securing element at different levels. In this way the securing element firmly locks each movable gate part in place and can withstand heavy impact forces without breaking. Even when the impact forces deform the gate parts, they remain in a closed and interconnected position and the forces are still transferred through the gate material to the supporting structure and/or to the foundations of the sliding gate. This results in a security sliding gate with a very high impact resistance.
The locking bodies and the securing element can be designed with a high breaking resistance, in accordance with the desired impact resistance.
For example, in a particular test, a sliding gate according to the invention with a total length of 25 m and with two identical slidably movable gate parts each supported by an end post and concrete foundations is placed in the locked state, and is hit in the middle at the front side by a 12 tonne truck at a speed of 48 kms/hour. The locking device withstands this heavy impact force without breaking. The horizontal impact force is for example 650 kN and results in reaction forces acting on each of the two end posts : a first reaction force of about 2000 kN directed towards the other end post in the vertical plane of the gate parts, and a second reaction force of about 300 kN directed towards the restricted area or building in a vertical plane perpendicular to the vertical plane of the gate parts. The reaction forces are transferred to the foundations of the gate through the material of the end posts and their supporting structures.
The securing pin can for example be a metal pin or rod, preferably made of steel, preferably cylindrical with a diameter of at least 70 mm, preferably with a diameter of at least 150 mm. The locking bodies can be designed as plate-like parts, preferably made of metal, preferably steel, preferably having a thickness of at least 25 mm, more preferably having a thickness of at least 40 mm. The passages are for example cylindrical openings in the locking bodies.
In a preferred embodiment of the sliding gate according to the invention, said first and second locking bodies are placed in a position in which their first and second passages are aligned in a substantially vertical direction, when the gate parts are in the closed position.
In another preferred embodiment, the first and the second gate part comprise respective end sides which are facing each other, each first locking body protruding from the end side of the first gate part, each second locking body protruding from the end side of the second gate part, such that the first and second locking bodies are positioned in the space between the end sides of the gate parts.
In a further preferred embodiment, at least two of the more than one first locking bodies are positioned above one another with an intermediate space in between them, and at least one of the more than one second locking body is placed in said intermediate space when the sliding gate parts are in the closed position.
In a particularly preferable embodiment a set of N of the more than one first locking bodies is positioned above one another with an intermediate space in between each two consecutive first locking bodies, such that N - 1 intermediate spaces are formed, N being an integer which is at least 2, and a set of N - 1 of the more than one second locking bodies is placed in a respective one of said N - 1 intermediate spaces when the sliding gate parts are in the closed position.
In a preferred embodiment, the second sliding gate part comprises a set of N second locking bodies of which N-1 are placed in a respective one of said intermediate spaces, and one locking body is placed above or underneath the set of first locking bodies.
In a most preferred embodiment N is an odd number, preferably 3.
It is also preferred that the securing element is movable between a locking position in which it extends through said first and second passages, and an unlocking position in which it is removed from said passages. The movement of the securing element can be done manually. The pin can be provided with a handle.
In a particular embodiment, the sliding gate comprises driving means for moving the securing element automatically. In another particular embodiment, the sliding gate also comprises driving means for moving at least one of the sliding gate parts from the open position to the closed position and vice versa. The driving means for example comprise an electrical motor or are operated hydraulically. All driving means can be activated through a control device.
In a most preferred embodiment, the first gate part and the second gate part are both slidably movable with respect to one another in a substantially horizontal direction.
Each first passage and/or each second passage can be a laterally closed opening or can be a laterally open space in a locking body. When the passage is a laterally closed opening, the opening preferably has a cylindrical shape.
Each passage or at least one passage can be completely surrounded by side walls (tunnel shaped or O-shaped passage) or can be only partially surrounded by side walls (passage formed by a recess in a side wall of the locking body such that the locking body is substantially C-shaped). In the latter case, two aligned C-shaped locking bodies preferably form an O- shaped passage when considered together.
In another preferred embodiment with a further improved crash resistance, each gate part comprises a hollow beam extending in its lengthwise direction, and a reinforcement bar, such as a metal beam, preferably a steel beam such as a H steel beam, is provided inside the hollow beam. The hollow beam preferably extends along the entire length of the gate part, and for example is a bottom beam of the gate part. The reinforcement bar may extend along a substantial part of the length of the hollow beam or along a small part of its length.
In a sliding gate with a still further improved crash resistance, the sliding gate comprises a protection element extending in front of the locking means at the front side of the sliding gate. This protection element is for example a plate-like element, preferably a metal plate, for example a steel plate.
In a further advantageous embodiment, at least one of said gate parts comprises a first gate portion and a second gate portion, each gate portion having the total height of the gate part but extending over only a part of its total length, the first gate portion comprising a first hollow beam portion and the second gate portion comprising a second hollow beam portion, said gate portions being produced as separate items and being connected to one another such that the first and second hollow beam portions are aligned, and said gate part further comprises a reinforcement bar extending inside both the first hollow beam portion and the second hollow beam portion.
The gate portions can be transported separately and can be connected in situ in the vicinity of the location where the gate is to be installed. The transport of the shorter gate portions is much easier than the transport of an entire gate part.
The hollow beam portions preferably are bottom beam portions. The reinforcement beam preferably is connected to the walls of at least one of the first and second hollow beam portions, for example by means of a number of bolts extending through openings in a wall of the hollow beam and through corresponding openings in the reinforcement bar.
In a further preferred embodiment, at least one of the gate parts comprises three or more gate portions, while a respective reinforcement bar extends inside both hollow beams of each set of two adjoining gate portions.
The gate parts preferably also comprise guiding means in order to place the gate parts in an aligned position as they move to the closed position. One gate part for example comprises a guiding body which is extending in the movement direction (the lengthwise direction) of the gate part, and the other gate part comprises an open receiving structure with walls delimiting a receiving space, which is positioned opposite the guiding body and also extending in the direction of movement of the gate parts. When the gate parts move to the closed position, the guiding body is received between the walls of the receiving space and the gate parts are placed in the closed position in a very well aligned position. The receiving structure preferably comprises stopping means such that the guiding body abuts against the stopping means when the gate parts are in the closed position. The stopping means may for example be provided inside the receiving space.
The sliding gate (i.e. both gate parts) preferably has a total length of at least 10 m, preferably at least 25 m.
In the following, a more detailed description is given of a possible embodiment of a sliding gate according to this invention. The sole aim of this detailed description is to indicate how the invention can be realized and to illustrate the particular characteristics thereof and thus clarify these still further. This description can thus not be regarded as a limitation of the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
Nor can the field of application of the invention be limited on the basis of this description. In this description, reference is made through reference numerals to the accompanying figures, wherein

Figure 1 is a side view of a sliding gate in a closed position
Figure 2 is a side view of a sliding gate in an open position
Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the left part of the sliding gate of figures 1 and 2,
Figure 4 shows a middle part of the sliding gate when the locking means are in the unlocked state,
Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the locking means shown in figure 4, and
Figure 6 shows a middle part of the sliding gate when the locking means are in the locked state.

The high impact sliding gate shown in the figures is installed to close off a passage (P) to a restricted area (see figures 1 and 2). It has a total length (L) of approximately 32 m and includes two identical sliding gate parts (A),(B), also called leafs, with a length of approximately 16 m. The leafs (A),(B) are slidably movable along aligned movement paths (M_A), (M_B) in horizontal direction (see figure 1) between a closed position (shown in figure 1) and an open position (shown in figure 2). The leafs (A),(B) have facing end sides (18),(19).
The sliding gate (A),(B) comprises a concrete foundation (1) supporting four guiding structures (2),(3),(4),(5), of which two (2),(3) are erected on the left side of the passage (P) and two (4),(5) are erected on the right side of the passage (P). Each guiding structure (2),(3),(4),(5) comprises two vertical posts (2a),(3a),(4a),(5a) on opposite sides of the movement paths (M_A), (M_B) and a connecting beam (2b),(3b) bridging the top ends of the vertical posts (2a),(3b),(4b),(5b), so that the vertical posts and the connecting beam define a rectangular guiding aperture. In figure 3, only the connecting beams of the guiding structures (2),(3) on the left side of the passage (P) are shown. In figures 1 and 2, only one post (2a),(3a),(4a),(5a) of each guiding structure (2),(3),(4),(5) is shown. The four guiding apertures are aligned in the direction of the movement paths (M_A), (M_B) of the leafs (A),(B).
Each guiding structure (2),(3),(4),(5) further comprises guiding elements (not shown on the figures) fixed to the respective posts, on the side facing the leaf (A),(B) extending therethrough, in order to guide the leaf (A),(B) in a substantially vertical position during its movement along its movement path (M_A), (M_B).
The left leaf (A) extends through the guiding apertures formed by the two holding structures (2),(3) on the left side of the passage (P) and can slide through said apertures from its closed position (shown in figure 1) to its open position in which the right end side (18) of the leaf (A) is in the vicinity of the guiding structure (3) which is closest to the passage (P).
The right leaf (B) extends through the guiding apertures formed by the two holding structures (4),(5) on the right side of the passage (P) and can slide through said apertures from its closed position (shown in figure 1) to its open position in which the left end side (19) of the leaf (B) is in the vicinity of the guiding structure (5) which is closest to the passage (P).
In figure 2, the leafs (A),(B) are moved away from each other to a partial open position leaving a narrow free passage (F) in between the end sides (18),(19) of the leafs (A), (B).
Each leaf (A,),(B) comprises a top horizontal beam (10) and a bottom horizontal beam (11) and a plurality of rods (12) with a rectangular cross section extending in vertical direction at regular intervals between the top horizontal beam (10) and the bottom horizontal beam (11) and connected thereto by welding.
At regular intervals along the length of the horizontal beams (10),(11), a vertical beam (13) having a larger rectangular cross section than the vertical rods (12) is provided. Above each vertical beam (13), a respective L-shaped profile (14) is fixed to the top horizontal beam (10) extending vertically so that its longitudinal axis coincides with the longitudinal axis of the vertical beam (13).
The bottom horizontal beam (11) of each leaf (A), (B) is a hollow horizontal tube-shaped beam with a rectangular cross section of which the dimensions are approximately 450 x 250 mm. The metal walls of the tube-shaped beam (11) have a thickness of about 12,5 mm.
Each leaf (A),(B) is composed of three leaf portions. The gate portions of the left leaf (A), their respective lengths and their respective top and bottom beam portions are indicated in figure 3 only. The right leaf (B) is identical. Each leaf portion (A1),(A2),(A3) has the total height of the leaf (A) but only a part (a1),(a2),(a3) of its length. Each leaf portion thus comprises a respective portion (10a),(10b),(10c) of the top beam (10) and a respective portion (11a),(11b),(11c) of the bottom beam (11), as well as a number of vertical rods (12),(13),(14) extending between these top and bottom beam portions.
The three leaf portions (A1),(A2),(A3) are connected to one another with aligned top (10a),(10b),(10c) and bottom beam portions (11a),(11b),(11c). The leaf portions are produced as separate items and connected to each other in situ to form the entire leaf (A). The transport of the shorter leaf sections (A1),(A2),(A3) is easier than the transport of the leafs (A), (B) with a length of 15 m.
Each leaf (A) comprises a first reinforcement bar (not shown) having one end inside the bottom beam portion (11a) of the first leaf portion (A1) and the other end inside the bottom beam portion (11b) of the adjoining second leaf portion (A2), and a second reinforcement bar (not shown) having one end inside the bottom beam portion (11b) of the second leaf portion (A2) and the other end inside the bottom beam portion (11c) of the adjoining third leaf portion (A3). The reinforcement bars are connected to the bottom beam portion (11a), (11b), (11c) by means of bolts (30). The reinforcement bars are HEB 200 steel bars.
A set of wheels (not shown in the figures) is fixed to the bottom horizontal beam (11) of each leaf (A),(B). The wheels are fixed at regular intervals along the length of each leaf (A), (B) so that each leaf is supported by its set of wheels and the leaf can be rolled along its movement path (M_A), (M_B) from its closed position to its open position. To this end, the wheels of each set are guided by a guiding rail (6) extending along the movement paths.
Skirt plates (15) are fixed in front of the wheels along the entire length of each leaf (A),(B) at the front side and at the rear side of the leafs (A),(B). The front side is situated at the outside of the restricted area and the rear side is situated at the inside of the restricted area.
Each leaf (A),(B) comprises, at its side closest to the other leaf (B),(A), a respective vertical end beam (16) having a larger rectangular cross section than the vertical beams (13). The two leafs (A),(B) have respective end beams (16) with facing vertical sides (16a) and respective bottom horizontal beams (11) with facing vertical sides (32).
Said facing end sides (18),(19) of the leafs (A),(B) are thus formed by the vertical sides (16a) of their end beams (16) and the vertical sides (32) of their bottom horizontal beams (11).
Said facing vertical sides (16a),(32) are positioned near to each other when the leafs (A),(B) are in their closed position (see figure 4 and 5), so that a vertical intermediate space (17) is formed in between.
The leafs (A),(B) further comprise a locking device (20-26) which is provided to firmly interconnect the two leafs (A),(B) so that the leafs (A),(B) are maintained in their closed position, thereby locking the sliding gate. As both leafs (A),(B) are of equal length, the locking device (20-26) is provided approximately in the middle of the sliding gate (A),(B).
The left leaf (A) comprises (see in particular figures 4 and 5) three first locking bodies (20),(21),(22) and the right leaf (B) comprises three second locking bodies (23),(24),(25). Each locking body (21-25) is plate-shaped with a thickness of about 40 mm, and is partly inserted in the bottom horizontal beam (11) - not shown in the figures - of its associated leaf (A),(B), and comprises (see figure 5) a substantially rectangular body part (20a),(21a),(22a), (23a),(24a),(25a) protruding in horizontal direction from the vertical end side (32) of said bottom horizontal beam (11), and a tail part (20b),(21b),(22b),(23b),(24b),(25b) extending horizontally along the rear side surface (31) of the bottom horizontal beam (11) - i.e. the surface extending in the sliding direction of the leaf (A),(B) at its rear side. Each body part (20a-25a) comprises a vertical cylindrical opening (20c),(21c), (22c),(23c),(24c),(25c).
As can best be seen in figure 5, the body parts (20a-25a) of the first (20-22) and second locking elements (23-25) extend in the space (17) delimited by the facing vertical sides (16a) of the end beams (16) and the facing vertical sides (32) of the bottom horizontal beams (11).
The three first locking elements (20-22) are positioned above one another such that an intermediate space is formed in between each two consecutive first locking elements (20-22). The three second locking elements (23-25) are equally positioned above one another such that an intermediate space is formed in between each two consecutive second locking elements (23-25).
When the leafs (A),(B) are placed in their closed position (see figure 6), the position of the first (20-22) and second locking elements (23-25) is such that each body part (23a),(24a),(25a) of the second locking bodies (hereinafter called a second body part) is positioned underneath a respective body part (20a),(21a),(22a) of the first locking bodies (hereinafter called first body parts), and all openings (20c),(21c),(22c),(23c),(24c),(25c) are aligned in a vertical direction. The relative positions of the three first body parts (20a),(21a),(22a) - hereinafter referred to as top, middle and bottom first body part - and the three second body parts (23a),(24a),(25a) - hereinafter referred to as top, middle and bottom second body part - are such that the top second body part (23a) is in the intermediate space between the top first body part (20a) and the middle first body part (21a), the middle second body part (24a) is in the intermediate space between the middle first body part (21a) and the bottom first body part (22a), and the bottom second body part (25a) is underneath the bottom first body part (22a).
The leafs (A),(B) further comprise guiding means (28),(29) in order to place the leafs (A), (B) in an aligned position as they move to the closed position. As can best be seen on figure 5, one gate leaf (A) comprises a guiding body (28) which is extending in lengthwise direction of the leaf (A) under the bottom second body part (25), and the other gate (B) comprises an open receiving structure (29) with walls delimiting a receiving space (29a), which is positioned opposite the guiding body (28) under the bottom first body part (22) and also extending in the lengthwise direction of the leaf (B). In order to bring the leafs (A),(B) in the closed position, at least one of the leafs is moved in the lengthwise direction and during this movement the guiding body (27) is received between the walls of the receiving space (29a) and finally is completely inserted inside this receiving space (29a) when it abuts against stopping means (not shown in the drawings). In this way, the leafs (A),(B) are placed in the closed position in a well aligned position and, as a result thereof, the openings (20c),(21c),(22c),(23c),(24c),(25c) are also well aligned in the vertical direction. The guiding body (28) and the receiving structure (29) are supported by wheels (not shown in the drawings).
The locking device (20-26) further comprises a securing element in the form of cylindrical securing rod (26) which is connected to a vertically extending control rod (27) of a hydraulic system (not shown on the drawings). The hydraulic system is provided to move the control rod (27) in a vertical direction between a lower position, i.e. the locking position (in figure 6), in which the securing rod (26) is inserted in the vertically aligned openings (20c), (21c), (22c), (23c), (24c), (25c) in the first (20a), (21a), (22a) and second body parts (23a), (24a), (25a), and an upper position, i.e. the unlocking position (in figures 4 and 5) in which the securing rod (26) is withdrawn from the openings (20c), (21c), (22c), (23c), (24c), (25c). When the securing rod (26) is in the locking position, the leafs (A), (B) are firmly connected and the sliding gate is locked.
A heavy impact force acting on the front side of the sliding gate will be transmitted to the securing rod (26) by the locking bodies (20-25) and will result in a number of forces acting on the securing rod (26) at different levels, so that even heavy impact forces will not severely damage the locking device, the leafs (A),(B) and/or any of the guiding structures (2),(3),(4),(5). The sliding gate (A),(B) will remain locked and a substantial part of the impact force will be directed to the concrete foundation of the gate. Such a sliding gate is very crash resistant.
In order to unlock the locking device, the securing rod (26) can be moved upwardly by said control rod (27) of the hydraulic system to its unlocking position in which it is withdrawn from the openings (20c),(21c),(22c),(23c),(24c),(25c), as shown in figures 4 and 5.

Claims

Sliding gate comprising
- a first gate part (A) and a second gate part (B), at least one of said gate parts (A,B) being slidably movable with respect to the other one between an open position and a closed position, and

- a locking device (20-26) for maintaining each movable gate part (A,B) in the closed position, whereby the locking device (20-26) comprises

- more than one first locking body (20,21,22) integral with, or attached to, the first gate part (A), each first locking body defining a first passage (20c,21c,22c),

- more than one second locking body (23-25) integral with, or attached to, the second gate part (B), each second locking body defining a second passage (23c,24c,25c) and

- a securing element (26), such that, when the gate parts (A), (B) are in the closed position, said first (20-22) and second locking bodies (23-25) are placed in a position in which their first (20c,21c,22c) and second passages (23c,24c,25c) are positioned one above the other, allowing the securing element (26) to be placed in a locking position in which it extends through said passages (20c,21c,22c,23c,24c,25c).
Sliding gate according to claim 1, characterized in that said first (20-22) and second locking bodies (23-25) are placed in a position in which their first (20c,21c,22c) and second passages (23c,24c,25c) are aligned in a substantially vertical direction, when the gate parts (A), (B) are in the closed position.
Sliding gate according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first (A) and the second gate part (B) comprise respective end sides (18,19) which are facing each other, that each first locking body (20-22) protrudes from the end side (18) of the first gate part (A), that each second locking body (23-25) protrudes from the end side (19) of the second gate part (B), such that the locking bodies (20-25) are positioned in the space (17) between the facing end sides (18,19) of the gate parts (A,B).
Sliding gate according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least two said more than one first locking body (20-22) are positioned above one another with an intermediate space in between them, that at least one of said more than one second locking body (23-25) is placed in said intermediate space when the sliding gate parts (A,B) are in the closed position.
Sliding gate according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that a set of N of said more than one first locking bodies (20-22) is positioned above one another with an intermediate space in between each two consecutive locking bodies, such that N - 1 intermediate spaces are formed, N being an integer which is at least 2, that a set of N - 1 of said more than one second locking bodies (23-25) is placed in a respective one of said N- 1 intermediate spaces when the sliding gate parts (A,B) are in the closed position.
Sliding gate according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the securing element (26) is movable between a locking position in which it extends through said first and second passages, and an unlocking position in which it is removed from said passages.
Sliding gate according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first gate part (A) and the second gate part (B) are both slidably movable with respect to one another in a substantially horizontal direction.
Sliding gate according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that each first passage and/or each second passage is a laterally closed opening or is a laterally open space in a locking body.
Sliding gate according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the sliding gate comprises a protection element extending in front of the locking means at the front side of the sliding gate.
Sliding gate according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of said gate parts (A,B) comprises a first gate portion (A1) and a second gate portion (A2), each gate portion (A1,A2,A3) having the total height of the gate part but extending over only a part (a1,a2,a3) of its length, the first gate portion (A1) comprising a first hollow beam portion (11a) and the second gate portion (A2) comprising a second hollow beam portion (11b) , said gate portions (A1,A2) being produced as separate items and being connected to one another such that the first and second hollow beam portions (11a,11b) are aligned, and said gate part further comprises a reinforcement bar extending inside both the first hollow beam portion (11a) and the second hollow beam portion (11b).
Sliding gate according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sliding gate has a total length (L) of at least 10 m, preferably at least 25 m.