WO2008090586A1

WO2008090586A1 - Improved apparatus for electronic-control automatic powering of sliding gates

Info

Publication number: WO2008090586A1
Application number: PCT/IT2008/000041
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fernando Pittiglio; Alberto Gregori
Original assignee: Penso.Com Srl
Priority date: 2007-01-26
Filing date: 2008-01-25
Publication date: 2008-07-31
Also published as: EP2106490A1; EP2106490B1; AU2008208555A1; ITRM20070040A1

Abstract

An apparatus for moving sliding gates that slide on two or more bottom idler wheels along a guide rail comprises, in combination: mobile movement means, designed to slide fixedly with respect to the gate itself on a slide guide, remaining adherent thereto during the displacement of the gate from the opening position to the closing position and vice versa, as well as electronic means for detecting the position of the gate both when it is moving and when it is stationary and for interrupting the motion of the gate in the case of obstacles present on the opening/closing path of the gate itself.

Description

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONIC-CONTROL AUTOMATIC

POWERING OF SLIDING GATES

*****

The present invention relates to the sector of automatic gates and more in particular to a gate equipped with means for automatic powering thereof and means for electronic control of proper operation thereof in conditions of safety.

There is currently known, from the patent application for industrial invention No. RM2003A000249 filed in the name of the present inventors, a device for automatic powering of gates. Said device is characterized in that it comprises a drive wheel and a motor, which transmits the motion to said drive wheel, both of which are mounted on the gate, where the drive wheel is shaped and engages with a slide guide set on the ground. Said solution, albeit achieving the pre-set purposes, presents some disadvantages.

A first drawback of said device is represented by the fact that the gear transmission (crown wheel and pinion) is, obviously, very rigid and requires maintenance to prevent any sticking.

A second disadvantage is represented by the fact that the manual release of the gate, in the event of failure or in the case of lack of power supply, is particularly problematical . A third drawback is that, in the case where it is necessary to perform manual opening of the gate, in addition to the disadvantage referred to above, the user also has to carry out a further intervention on the lock. A fourth disadvantage consists in the fact that the technical solution described in the aforesaid patent entails particularly complicated operations of assembly, whereas according to the present invention opening of the lock occurs automatically during the operations of release of the gate.

A fifth disadvantage of the known art referred to above consists in the fact that it is not possible to have an automatic regulation of the speed of the movement of the gate as a function bf its effective weight.

Finally, yet another disadvantage of the known art consists in the fact that the motor-powered solutions with pinion and rack do not enable curved gates to be obtained, but only straight ones . The task of the present invention is to overcome the above drawbacks, by providing an apparatus for movement of sliding gates, which comprises:

-mobile movement means, designed to slide fixedly with respect to the gate itself on a slide guide, remaining adherent thereto during the displacement of the gate from the opening position to the closing position, and vice versa; and

—electronic means for detecting the position of the gate both when it is moving and when it is stationary and for interrupting the motion of the gate in the case of obstacles present on the opening/closing path of the gate itself.

According to a peculiar characteristic of the invention, said mobile movement means comprise a bottom drive wheel designed to be displaced by a low-voltage d.c. electric motor, said drive wheel acting as an alternative to the bottom idler wheel that is commonly present in the proximity of the front side of sliding gates of a known type.

The electric motor is contained in a guard rendered fixed with respect to the gate, and the supply of said motor is provided by a storage battery, which is set inside the guard itself, said storage battery being recharged by means of an induction system that is activated when the gate is closed. A better understanding of the invention will be obtained from the ensuing detailed description and with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate, purely by way of example, a preferred embodiment.

In the drawings : Figure 1 is a 3D exploded view of the invention, visible in which are some of the internal components;

Figure 2 is a side elevation corresponding to Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial 3D view of the bottom end of the apparatus according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a 3D view similar to the previous one, which shows the bottom end assembled;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the bottom end that shows the internal components thereof; Figures 6, 7, and 8 are, respectively, a side view, a front view, and a top view of the central area of the apparatus according to the invention;

Figure 9 is a functional block diagram of the apparatus according to the invention; and Figure 10 is a flowchart corresponding to operation of the apparatus according to the invention. With reference to the figures listed above, in the preferred embodiment that is described, the apparatus according to the invention is provided with a main body 1, of a substantially parallelepipedal shape, designed to be fixed on the vertical front edge of the sliding gate which is to be motor-powered, there being housed in said body 1 at least the bottom movement means, the supply battery or accumulator, the means for closing the gate, the means for warning that the gate is moving, and the control electronics.

According to the present invention, the main body 1 is designed to be blocked in a lowered position with respect to the vertical front side of the gate C in such a way that its bottom drive wheel R is lower than the front idler wheel F of the gate itself, the result being that said front wheel F of the gate C is slightly raised from the guide rail 3, of a known type, along which the gate moves.

A first peculiar characteristic of the invention lies in the fact that the main body 1 is slidably mounted on a vertical guide 2, firmly fixed to the front side of the gate C, and during normal use said main body 1 is displaced downwards along said vertical guide 2 and is kept in said position by purposely provided raising means 4, which are preferably wedge-shaped and are designed to co-operate with the inclined bottom end of the vertical guide 2 fixed with respect to the gate C.

In other words, if the wedge 4 is forced against the inclined bottom end of said vertical guide 2, the front part of the gate C is raised, and, if said wedge 4 is pulled back, the weight of the gate brings about lowering thereof.

Advantageously, said wedge is displaced forwards or backwards in the horizontal direction, i.e. , perpendicular to the guide 2, via screw means and is designed to be mounted on the side of the gate facing the inside of the property that is enclosed. According to another peculiar characteristic of the invention, the pawl 6 of the lock provided in the main body 1 of the apparatus described herein, is pivoted on a pin 8 set along its length, and has its rear end designed to interfere with an opening or interruption 7 of the vertical guide 2 that is set at a height such that, when the main body 1 of the apparatus slides vertically upwards with respect to the gate C and hence also with respect to the guide 2 fixed with respect thereto, said rear end of the pawl is lowered, bringing about raising of the front end of the pawl 6 and consequent disengagement from the fixed part 9 against which the gate closes by bearing thereupon.

Advantageously, the above configuration of the parts guarantees that, if need be, it is sufficient to act on the raising means 4 to obtain both release of the gate C, by bringing it back to rest upon its idler wheels F, and opening of the lock of the gate itself. With just one very simple operation made on the raising means 4, it is possible to release both the gate and the lock so as to enable opening thereof by manual displacement. According to the present invention, the supply battery of the motor, of the electronic-control part, and of the warning means 10 (flasher) for indicating that the gate is moving, is recharged preferably by the electrical mains supply by means of a front connection set in a position corresponding to the fixed part of the lock, or else an induction connection, or else again by means of photovoltaic cells.

In the example of embodiment described herein, the transmission of the motion between the motor M and the drive wheel R occurs by means of a kinematic chain with pulleys and a preferably cogged V-belt 11, with a drive ratio suitable for limiting the motor power requirement.

It is preferable for the motor M to move the corresponding pulley by means of a wormscrew/helical-wheel coupling 12 so as to render the transmission of the motion non-reversible.

As will be seen more clearly in what follows, it is preferable to provide at least one photocell of a known type, designed to detect the presence of obstacles along the path of the gate C during the displacements of the gate itself. Said photocell is preferably set in a position corresponding to the fixed part 9 of the lock, and the j mobile part of the same lock is fixed with respect to 'the main body 1.

With reference to Figure 9, the electronic control device of the electric motor M of the gate comprises:

—a microcontroller MC, which is designed to guarantee proper operation of the motor M and is able to receive commands both from the user' and from the safety devices; -a power MOSFET, designed to control the speed of the motor M;

—one or more relay circuits RE for opening/closing the gate, each of which is designed to connect said MOSFET to the motor M and to determine the direction of rotation of the motor M itself; said relay circuits RE being connected to the microcontroller MC; and

-an encoder E, which is designed to detect the state of the motor M and to transmit one or more sequences of pulses to the microcontroller MC, which correspond to the state of the motor M; said encoder E being connected both to the motor M and to the microcontroller MC.

Also provided are further auxiliary means for signalling opening/closing of the gate, for detection of obstacles on the opening/closing path of the gate, and for exclusion upon command of the electronic control device.

Said auxiliary means comprise:

-two further MOSFETs, one designed to drive the lock device and one designed to drive a LED flasher (it is preferable for said LED flasher to have a high brightness) ;

-a photocell, designed to emit infrared rays located on the counter plate 9;

—a selective receiver, designed to receive said infrared rays located on the motor;

—a receiver (for example, radiofrequency, infrared, ultrasound, etc.), designed to receive the opening commands from the user via a remote control of a known type; -a microswitch, designed to inhibit operation of the electronic control device in the case where the user wishes to release the gate mechanically;

—a mechanical release device, designed to actuate said microswitch; -a first transformer (one half) with induction by approach; -a second transformer (one half) of the photocell, which is designed to be coupled to said first transformer; and

-a battery charger. It is preferable for said battery charger to be optimized for the type of battery used.

Once again with reference to Figure 9, the microcontroller MC comprises:

-a circuit referred to as ^λΛPWM (Pulse Width Modulation) circuit", designed to control the speed of the motor M;

—a nonvolative data memory (EEPROM) N for storage of a plurality of parameters for proper operation of the gate; -means for measuring the duration of each pulse and for counting the number of pulses MI; and

—an analog-to-digital converter.

The PWM circuit is substantially a circuit designed to generate a sequence of square-wave pulses, the frequency and duty cycle (i.e., the ratio between the duration of a pulse and the period comprised between the pulse considered and the next pulse) of which are parameters that can be modified by the microcontroller MC.

The operating parameters regard the weight of the gate, the time during which the gate remains open before reclosing during a cycle of opening/closing thereof, the ^v length of the travel of the gate for passing from an opening position to a closing position or vice versa, as well as the remote-control code that enables opening/closing of the gate itself.

In this way, the speed of the motor M is regulated by the microcontroller MC by varying the time during which the entire supply voltage is applied to the terminals of the motor M.

The PWM circuit sends said pulses to the power MOSFET that controls the speed of the motor M by means of a purposely provided relay circuit RE that establishes the direction of rotation of the motor M itself.

In the example illustrated, two relays RE are provided: a relay for opening Rl the gate, and a relay for closing R2 the gate.

The power MOSFET behaves like a switch that switches on/off a number of times per second so that the speed is lower than the speed that would be obtained with continuous conduction. Said encoder E may be of a magnetic type or of an^; optical type. In the first case, the rotating part of the encoder E is represented by a magnet fitted on the shaft of the motor M, whilst in the second case it is represented by a perforated disk. According to a peculiar characteristic of the invention, once the gate is mounted, the microcontroller MC sets automatically the parameters of proper operation of the gate by means of a cycle of opening/closing of the gate itself. Described hereinafter is the procedure of initialization of the means for powering the gate in order to detect the operating parameters (Figure 10) .

When programming of the opening time of the gate starts (which can be activated by a remote control) , the gate is found in an intermediate position between the two end-of-travel positions, and the opening/closing relay RE is enabled by the microcontroller MC, but the motor M is stationary in so far as the power MOSFET is still inhibited by the starting state of the PWM circuit.

The microcontroller MC detects in any case the state of the encoder E.

Irrespective of external interventions performed by a user, the microcontroller MC by means of the PWM circuit generates a sequence of pulses automatically modifying the duration thereof with a pre-set interval as long as it detects, via the encoder E, that the motor M is in motion and is transmitting the motion to the drive wheel of the gate .

When the microcontroller MC detects by means of the signal coming from the encoder E that the gate is moving,

I it stores the value of the duration of the pulse to which the motion of the motor M corresponded both in its nonvolatile memory N and in a purposely provided register with which the PWM circuit is provided.

The microcontroller MC determines, as a function of said value, through a series of mathematical calculations, the value to be supplied to the PWM circuit corresponding to the maximum speed that the gate can reach.

It should be emphasized that in this way a value of the speed of the gate is obtained that is a function of the weight of the gate itself, and this enables selection of a value of the speed such that this is not able to impress on the gate a dangerous inertial force.

The gate moving on the slide guide set on the ground passes from its original position to that of opening, coming to bear upon a start-of-travel sectional element.

This causes switching-off of the motor M, which is detected by the encoder E and consequently by the microcontroller MC.

It is evident that the number of pulses necessary for opening or closing the gate is strictly correlated to the number of turns that the motor M must perform for transmitting the motion to the gate.

The method for detection by the microcontroller MC of the information corresponding to the weight of the gate and to the value of the maximum speed that the gate can reach starting from an initial stationary state the motor M of the gate, comprises the following steps:

A. transmission of a signal by the remote control to a receiver present on the gate to start programming; B. if the signal is received by the receiver on the gate, closing of the opening/closing relay circuit RE of the gate by the microcontroller MC;

C. transmission of a sequence of pulses by the microcontroller MC by means of the PWM circuit to the power MOSFET to open the gate C completely;

D. checking of the state of the motor M by the microcontroller MC by means of the encoder E;

E. if the motor M is stationary, modification by the microcontroller MC of the duration of each pulse of the sequence generated by the PWM circuit with a pre-set interval; otherwise, passage of control to step 6;

F. storage in the nonvolatile memory N of the microcontroller MC of the value of the duration of the pulse to which there corresponds motion of the motor M; G. mathematical processing by the microcontroller MC according to said value stored in its nonvolatile memory N to extract the value of the maximum speed that the gate can reach. Once the gate is completely opened, the user has the possibility of deciding how long the gate is to remain open: the time interval between reaching of the end-of-travel of maximum opening and start of closing upon command by the user becomes the time interval in which the gate will remain open automatically during its normal operation.

When the user starts closing of the gate by means of the remote control, the gate slides on the guide set on the ground until it comes to bear upon the end-of-travel sectional element. At this point, the gate closes, and programming terminates and therewith also setting of the operating parameters of the microcontroller MC.

It is to be noted that the parameter corresponding to the length of the travel of the gate is identified only upon completion of the opening and closing cycle in order to prevent that an improper assembly might adversely affect said value during opening of the gate.

Said value is a function of the number of pulses arriving from the encoder E.

In fact, the encoder E transmits to the microcontroller MC a number of pulses until the motor M stops, and said number of pulses is progressively updated and stored in its nonvolatile memory N.

In other words, the encoder E behaves like a switch, detecting the state of the motor M at any moment, both when the latter is on and when it is off, and continuously transmits a signal to the microcontroller MC. The microcontroller MC in turn processes the information received from the encoder E in order to determine the value to be supplied to the PWM circuit for establishing the value of the maximum speed of opening/closing of the gate, in a way inversely proportional to the weight and at the same time, from the number of pulses coming from the encoder E, the length of the travel of the gate for passing from an opening position to a closing position or vice versa. In the case where an obstacle is present on the opening/closing path of a gate in motion, the accidental impact is avoided only if s_aid obstacle is intercepted by the infrared rays emitted by the photocell. In the case where it is not intercepted by the infrared rays of the photocell, impact of said obstacle with the gate occurs. In this specific case, following upon impact, the speed of the gate decreases and the microcontroller MC detects slowing-down of the gate from the pulses that arrive from the encoder E and that have a greater duration than the ones that the encoder E transmits when the gate does not encounter any obstacle on its opening/closing path. Consequently, if the gate is closing, the microcontroller MC intervenes on the MOSFET for controlling the speed of the motor M and, by means of the relay RE, reverses the direction of rotation of the motor M so that the gate will return into its opening position.

In other words, by analysis of the duration of the pulses of the encoder E, it is possible to carry out an electronic control of the effort that the motor must make owing to the presence of obstacles.

A first advantage is represented by the fact that there do not exist mechanical constraints between the motor reducer and the gate. Hence, in the case where there is damage to the electronic components, in the presence of an obstacle on the opening/closing path the drive wheel skids on the slide guide or else the gate stops in so far as the power of the motor (which is a function of the weight of the gate) is insufficient to draw the gate and push the obstacle .

A second advantage is represented by the fact that the speed that can be reached by the moving gate during • opening/closing is proportional to the weight of the gate itself.

A third advantage is represented by the fact that, in the case where the gate is initially stationary and receives the command to move, it start moving at a low speed to prevent any skidding between the drive wheel and the guide and subsequently increases its speed.

A fourth advantage is represented by the fact that in the proximity of the start-of-travel and end-of-travel sectional elements the gate reduces the speed to prevent high-speed impact with said sectional elements. This is a consequence of the fact that the microcontroller MC knows the length of the travel of the gate.

A fifth advantage is represented by the fact that an automatic ^' adaptation by the microcontroller is provided according to any changes in the operating parameters due to the variations in friction following upon installation of the gate.

The present invention has been described and illustrated in a preferred embodiment, but it is evident that technically equivalent modifications and/or replacements may be made by the person skilled in the sector, without thereby departing from the sphere of protection of the present industrial patent right.

Claims

1. An apparatus for moving sliding gates (C) that slide on two or more bottom idler wheels (F) along a guide rail (3) , characterized in that it comprises, in combination: - mobile movement means designed to slide fixedly with respect to the gate itself on a slide guide, remaining adherent thereto during the displacement of the gate from the opening position to the closing position and vice versa; and - electronic means for detecting the position of the gate both when it is moving and when it is stationary and for interrupting the motion of the gate in the case of obstacles present on the opening/closing path of the gate itself.

2. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it further comprises mechanical safety means for fast and simultaneous blocking/release of the gate and of the lock in the event of failure or in the case of absence of current.

3. The apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said mobile movement means comprise a bottom drive wheel designed to be moved by a low-voltage d.c. electric motor, said drive wheel acting as an alternative to the bottom idler wheel that is commonly present in the proximity of the front side of sliding gates of a known type .

4. The apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that said mobile movement means comprise an electric motor (M) , which is contained in a guard fixed with respect to the gate (C) , and in that the supply of said motor is provided by a storage battery that is set inside the guard itself, said storage battery being recharged by means of an induction system that is activated when the gate is closed.

5. The apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a main body. (1) having a substantially parallelepipedal shape designed to be fixed on the vertical front edge of the sliding gate (C) , there being housed in said body (1) at least bottom movement means, a supply battery or accumulator, means for closing the gate, means for warning that the gate is moving, as well as the control electronics.

6. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the main body (1) is designed to be blocked in a lowered position with respect to the vertical front side of the gate (C) in such a way that a bottom drive wheel (R) thereof is lower than the front idler wheel (F) of the gate itself, the result being that said front wheel

(F) of the gate (C) is slightly raised from the guide rail (3) along which the gate moves.

7. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the main body (1) is slidably mounted on a vertical guide (2) firmly fixed to the front side of the gate (C) and in that, during normal use, said main body (1) is displaced downwards along said vertical guide (2) and is designed to be kept in said position by means of purposely provided raising means (4) .

8. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said raising means are preferably of the wedge type and are designed to co-operate with an inclined bottom end of the vertical guide (2) fixed with respect to the gate (C) ; the result being that, by forcing the wedge (4) against the inclined bottom end of said vertical guide (2) , the front part of the gate (C) is raised, whereas, by pulling back said wedge (4) , the gate is lowered by its own weight.

9. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said wedge (4) is displaced forwards or backwards in the horizontal direction, i.e., perpendicular to the guide (2) , via screw means and is designed to be mounted of the side of the gate facing the inside of the property that is enclosed.

10. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that provided in the main body (1) is a lock equipped with a pawl (6), which is pivoted on a pin (8) set along its length, and has its rear end designed to interfere with an opening or interruption (7) of the vertical guide (2) ; said opening or interruption (7) being set at a height such that, when the main body (1) of the apparatus slides vertically upwards with respect to the gate (C) and hence also with respect to the guide (2) fixed with respect thereto, said rear end of the pawl is lowered causing raising of the front end of the pawl (6) and consequent disengagement from the fixed part (9) against which the gate closes by bearing thereupon.

11. The apparatus according to any one of Claims 5 to 10, characterized in that the battery for supplying the motor, the electronic-control part, and the means for warning that the gate is moving, is designed to be recharged from the electrical mains supply by means of a front connection set in a position corresponding to the fixed part of the lock, or else by means of an induction connection, or else again by means of photovoltaic cells.

12. The apparatus according to Claims 4 and 6, characterized in that the transmission of the motion between the motor (M) and the drive wheel (R) occurs by means of a kinematic chain with pulleys and a preferably cogged V-belt (11) , with an appropriate drive ratio for limiting the motor power requirement.

13. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the motor (M) moves the corresponding pulley by means of a wormscrew/helical-wheel coupling (12) , so as to render the transmission of motion non-reversible.

14. The apparatus according to Claim 10, characterized in that at least one photocell of a known type is provided, designed to detect the presence of obstacles along the path of the gate (C) during the displacements of the gate itself; said photocell being set in a position corresponding to the fixed part (9) of the lock and the mobile part of the lock itself, which is fixed with respect to the main body (1) .

15. The apparatus according to Claim 4, characterized in that the electronic control device of the electric motor (M) of the gate comprises:

-a microcontroller (MC) designed to guarantee proper operation of the motor (M) and able to receive the commands both from the user and from the safety devices;

—a power MOSFET designed to control the speed of the motor (M) ;

-one or more relay circuits (RE) for opening/closing the gate, each of which is designed to connect said MOSFET to the motor (M) and to determine the direction of rotation of the motor (M) itself; said relay circuits (RE) being connected to the microcontroller (MC) ;

-an encoder (E) designed to detect the state of the motor (M) and to transmit one or more sequences of pulses to the microcontroller (MC) , which correspond to the state of the motor (M) ; said encoder (E) being connected both to the motor (M) and to the microcontroller (MC) .

16. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that further auxiliary means are.provided for indicating opening/closing of the gate, for detecting obstacles on the opening/closing path of the gate, and for excluding upon command the electronic control device.

17. ^"The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said auxiliary means comprise:

- two further MOSFETs, one designed to drive the lock device and one designed to drive a LED flasher (it is preferable for said LED flasher to have a high brightness) ;

- a photocell, designed to emit infrared rays, which is located on the counter-plate (9);

- a selective receiver, designed to receive said infrared rays, which is located on the motor; - a receiver (for example, radiofrequency, infrared, ultrasound, etc.), designed to receive the opening commands from the user via remote controls of a known type;

- a microswitch, designed to inhibit operation of the electronic control device in the case where the user wishes to release the gate mechanically;

— a mechanical release device, designed to actuate said micro-switch;

— a first transformer (one half) with 5 induction by approach;

— a second transformer (one half) of the photocell, designed to be coupled with said first transformer; and i — a battery charger.

18. The apparatus according to Claim 15, characterized in that the microcontroller (MC) comprises:

-a circuit referred to as "PWM (Pulse Width

Modulation) circuit", designed to control the speed of the motor (M) ; -a nonvolative data memory (N) (EEPROM) for storage of a plurality of parameters for proper operation of the gate;

—means for measuring the duration of each pulse and for counting the number of pulses (MI) ; —an analog-to-digital converter.

19. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the PWM circuit is substantially a circuit designed to generate a sequence of square-wave pulses, the frequency and duty cycle of which are parameters that can be modified by the microcontroller (MC) .

20. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said operating parameters comprise: the weight of the gate, the time during which the gate remains open before reclosing during a cycle of opening/closing thereof, the length of the travel of the gate for passing from an opening position to a closing position or vice versa, as well as the remote-control code that enables opening/closing of the gate itself.

21. The apparatus according to the preceding- claim, characterized in that the speed of the motor (M) is designed to be regulated by the microcontroller (MC) by varying the time during which the entire supply voltage is applied to the terminals of the motor (M) .

22. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the PWM circuit is designed to send said pulses to the power MOSFET that controls the speed of the motor (M) by means of a purposely provided relay circuit (RE) that establishes the direction of rotation of the motor (M) itself.

23. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that two relays (RE) are provided: a relay for opening (Rl) the gate and a relay for closing (R2) the gate .

24. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the power MOSFET is designed to function as a switch that switches on and off a number of times per second so that the speed is lower than the speed that would be obtained in continuous conduction.

25. The apparatus according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said encoder (E) is of a magnetic type and its rotating part is a magnet fitted on the shaft of the motor (M) .

26. The apparatus according to Claim 24, characterized in that said encoder (E) is of an optical type and its rotating part is a perforated disk.

27. The apparatus according to Claim 22 or Claim 23, characterized in that, once mounted the gate, the microcontroller (MC) is designed to perform automatically setting of the parameters for proper operation of the gate by means of a cycle of opening/closing of the gate itself.