GB2046973A

GB2046973A - Automatic fare collection gate and locking device therefor

Info

Publication number: GB2046973A
Application number: GB8001614A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: LONDON TRANSPORT EXECUTIVE
Current assignee: LONDON TRANSPORT EXECUTIVE
Priority date: 1979-04-12
Filing date: 1980-01-17
Publication date: 1980-11-19

Abstract

A locking device for an automatic fare collection gate arranged to operate in conjunction with door opening and closing mechanism in response to the presentation of a valid ticket or token to the gate, the locking device including an actuator (9) associated with a locking means comprising a locking plate (4) rotatable on the shaft (2) extending between a door (1) of the gate and a linkage (3) of the gate opening and closing mechanism, said plate including a cam slot (6) arranged to receive a cam follower (8) to lock the shaft (2) against rotation when the door (1) is in the closed position, the actuator (9) being withdrawable from engagement with the cam follower (8) to allow the shaft (2) to rotate to allow the doors to be opened and closed, the actuator (9) operating in synchronism with the door opening and closing mechanism. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Automatic fare collection gate and locking device therefor This invention relates to automatic fare collection gates and to a locking device therefor.

Automatic fare collection entry and exit gates of the so-calied 'closed mode' and 'open mode' types are described in Patent No. 1 397 186.

Gates of this type normally require an optimum air pressure on site of some 60 p.s.i. in order to ensure that when the doors of the gate are closed, a person wishing to enter or leave the system of which the gates form a part, cannot normally force open the gate against the air pressure thereby obtaining illegal entry to or exit from the system. With a completely 'closed' automatic fare collection system where entry to the system or exit therefrom is designed to be solely via the respective entry or exit gates, it is particularly important to ensure that the doors of the gates when closed cannot normally be forced open to illegally enter or leave the system.

It has been found with existing gates that it is not always possible to ensure that the optimum on-site pressure of 60 p.s.i. is available from the air main and such a reduced air pressure has facilitated forcing of the doors of the gate and illegal entry to or exit from the system.

An object of the present invention is to provide a locking device for the doors of an automatic fare collection gate which ensure that despite any reduction in optimum air pressure the doors of the gate are locked when in the fully closed position such as to inhibit possible entry to or exit from the gate, but such as to be entirely safe in normal use i.e. when the doors are opening or closing.

Thus according to one aspect of the invention there is provided an automatic fare collection gate including first actuator means coupled to the doors of the gate to effect normal opening and closing thereof in response to the presentation of a valid ticket or token to the gate and second actuator means operable in conjunction with said first actuator means to control the position of a locking means from a 'doors locked' position to a 'doors released' position to allow said doors to open in response to operation of said first actuator means and operable to control the movement of said locking means from the 'doors released' position to a 'doors locked' position when the doors are actuated to the closed position.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an automatic fare collection gate locking device arranged to operate in conjunction with an actuator arranged to open and close the doors of the gate in response to the presentation of a valid ticket or token to the gate, said locking device including a further actuator associated with locking means mounted on a shaft extending between said first mentioned actuator and a door of the gate and operable in conjunction with said first mentioned actuator to a door release position to release said shaft for rotation to allow said door to open and close and operable to a door locked position by engagement of the further actuator with said locking device to inhibit rotation of said shaft when the door has closed to lock the door in the closed position.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the locking device comprises a locking plate free to rotate on the shaft coupling a door of the gate to the door opening and closing actuator means, said locking plate being engageable by a locking plunger having a cam follower arranged to engage in a cam slot of the locking plate when a further actuator operating in conjunction with the door opening and closing actuator means is moved into engagement with the locking plunger such as to inhibit rotation of the shaft and lock the door in the closed position, and said cam follower of the locking plunger being released from the cam slot to allow rotation of the shaft and consequent opening and closing of the door when the said further actuator is released from engagement with the locking plate.

The locking device of the present invention provides a more positive opening and closing action than devices used heretofore. The closure of the doors of the gate is arranged to be interrupted when a relatively small resistance is applied thereto but when the resistance is removed, the doors will continue to the closed position. Thus, should a limb of a commuter or any part of the body be positioned between the doors when closing, the pressure would not be excessive, and the limb or part of the body would be releasable without injury, but when the doors have proceeded to the fully closed position, the locking device holds the doors locked in the closed position to prevent illegal entry to or exit from the gate.

The locking device of the present invention is arranged to be accommodated within existing so called 'slim-line gates' as described in Patent No. 1 397186 without requiring modification of the gates.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with particular reference to the accompanying drawing wherein Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the locking device of the present invention for one door of an automatic fare collection gate and Figure 2 is a plan view of part of the locking device of Figure 1.

Each door 1 of a 2-door or 4-door gate is attached to a vertical shaft 2 which extends to the open/close cylinder linkage 3 which is arranged to be driven by any suitable actuator means, which may be pneumatic or hydraulic or a linear electric motor or an electric solenoid. A circular locking plate 4 is mounted on a sleeve 5 coaxial with shaft 2 and free to rotate relatively to shaft 2. The circular locking plate 4 is provided on the periphery thereof with a cam slot 6 shown more clearly in Figure 2. A roller type lock plunger 7 supported within a double roller cage, is provided with a roller cam follower 8 arranged to engage within the cam slot 6 as shown in Figure 1. An actuator 9 is arranged to permit engagement of the cam follower 8 in the cam slot 6, or disengagement thereof, by movement of the actuator 9 towards or away from the lock plunger 7.

As shown in the drawings, the actuator 9 is shown decoupled from engagement with the end of the lock plunger7 remote from the cam follower 8. Without decoupling of the lock plunger7 and actuator 9, any pressure applied to the doors of the gate when closed would cause damage to and non-actuation of the actuator.

In operation, with the gate in the closed position with the doors locked i.e. with the cam follower 8 in engagement with the cam slot 6 as shown in Figures 1 and 2, insertion of a valid ticket in a ticket entry slot of the gate will cause the door opening mechanism to operate to actuate the linkage 3 to effect rotation of the shaft 2 to move the door 1 to the open position. Simultaneously with operation of the dooropening mechanism, actuator 9 is withdrawn from engagement with the lock plunger 7, allowing the cam follower 8 to be driven out of the cam slot 6 and to ride along the cam slot 6 thereby imposing no restriction on the rotation of shaft 2. The commuter will pass through the open doors of the gate. When the credit established by the valid ticket is exhausted the gate closing mechanism is actuated together with the actuator 9 which is moved towards the lock plunger 7.Initially during the door closing operation, the cam follower 8 rides on the peripheral surface of the locking plate 4 but at the end of the door closing cycle, movement of the actuator 9 will propel the cam follower 8 into engagement with the cam slot 7 and the doors will be located in the closed position and held locked against forcible entry by the location of the cam follower 8 in the cam slot 6 of the locking plate 4.

The door opening and closing mechanism can be actuated by a relatively low pressure e.g. 45 p.s.i.

thereby avoiding injury to any part of a body located between the doors of the gate during a door closing operation. To permit release of any such part of a body under such circumstances, the sleeve 5 is provided with an integral extension.10 cooperating with a similar projection 11 extending from a collar 12 pinned to the shaft 2 and rotating therewith. A spring 13 extends between the extension 10 and projection 11 and the tension of the spring 13 may be adjusted by means of the adjustment screw 14.

Thus, when the doors are locked by the locking device of the present invention, adjustment of the tension on the spring will determine the amount of force necessary to force open the doors.

Thus the present invention enables a closed circuit automatic fare collection system to be provided with 'closed or open mode' type gates which can be locked in the closed position against illegal entry or exit, such that access to the system or exit therefrom is solely via the gates on presentation of a valid ticket or token to the gate, but such that under emergency conditions, the doors will not impose injurious pressure on any part of a body trapped between the doors when closing.

Claims

1. An automatic fare collection gate including first actuator means coupled to the doors of the gate to effect normal opening and closing thereof in response to the presentation of a valid ticket or token to the gate and second actuator means operable in conjunction with said first actuator means to control the position of a locking means from a 'doors locked' position to a 'doors released' position to allow said doors to open in response to operation of said first actuator means and operable to control the movement of said locking means from the 'doors released' position to a 'doors locked' position when the doors are actuated to the closed position.

2. An automatic fare collection gate locking device arranged to operate in conjunction with an actuator arranged to open and close the doors of the gate in response to the presentation of a valid ticket or token to the gate, said locking device including a further actuator associated with locking means mounted on a shaft extending between said first mentioned actuator and a door of the gate and operable in conjunction with said first mentioned actuator to a door release position to release said shaft for rotation to allow said door to open and close and operable to a door locked position by engagement of the further actuator with said locking device to inhibit rotation of said shaft when the door has closed to lock the door in the closed position.

3. A locking device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said locking means includes a locking plate mounted on a sleeve coaxially mounted on said shaft, said locking plate having a peripheral cam slot engageable by a cam follower actuatable towards the locking plate by said further actuatorwhere locking of the doors of the gate in the closed position is effected by engagement of the cam follower in said cam slot of the locking plate.

4. A locking device as claimed in claim 3 wherein the cam follower comprises a roller of a roller type lock plunger supported within a double roller cage.

5. A locking device as claimed in claim 3 or 4 wherein said sleeve is provided with an integral projection spring coupled to a further projection extending from a collar fixed to said shaft such as to allow forcing of the doors of the gate in the closed position.

6. An automatic fare collection gate locking device substantially as hereinbefore described and as shown in the accompanying drawings.