gof Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 how about a coil spring mounted to a large screw and nut mechanism all hidden inside a post sleeve - which rises (decompresses) and falls (compresses) with the gate as it is opened and closed respectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil H Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 I haven't thought it through fully, but could you move the top hinge point away from the post sufficiently to make the gate sit "normally" when open? The hinge could be on a bar which sits behind the top rail of the gate. Funnily enough, I was pondering this very same question a few weeks ago, and I decided that while the above solution could be applied, I rather liked the "laid back" look. This may look a little tidier if there was a triangular section on the gate which filled in the gap between the gate and the post when the gate is open. The whole thing is a novel solution, but no matter what you do, if a rising gate is not counterbalanced or mechanically controlled in some way, it will always want to swing closed. Heavy gates such as these would be a pain to operate. Taking a bit out of the driveway to allow them to swing level is a great solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 If the gate leaves were rigidly to a round pipe, the pipe could rotate around a smaller shaft. Cut a 12" slot at the base of the pipe. On the inner shaft affix a pin that's 12" off the ground. At the top of the inner shaft mount a pulley. Run a line from the bottom of the pipe over the top and tie it to a counterweight. The leaves would be forced to travel straight up BEFORE they would be able to rotate. The counterweight makes the gate leaf easy to manage. Basically I've suggested a bayonet fitting with a counterweight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Now I'm envisioning a ball/socket joint, but one where the pintle is able to rotate in the pillar. I'm really having a hard time visualizing how the one hinge would have to track, though. Being able to revolve seems like it would work in conjunction with the flexibility of the ball-n-socket hinges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulsepushthepopulace Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I would tell the client that it's going to cost them (insert crazy 6 to 7 digit #)... Isn't that a traditional method for out swinging gates with an incline like that? I'm all for re-inventing things, but save modern technological advances, the mechanical nature of the hinge parallels that of the the wheel... If they refuse technology, and want some kind of crazy kinetic custom hinge on the cheap, I'd walk away... In my experience, people whom are stuck on "it looks funny" are not the folks you want to do business with especially when undertaking a task like this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Put them on a track to roll horizontally with the fence. Thank you. My bill is in the mail B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbillysmith Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Model the hinges after a stall door in a public restroom... The hinge is a vertical pin (like a half-pin barrel style hinge) with a partial spiral (almost like an extremely course thread). When the stall doors are open, the weight of the door forces the spiral on the hinge to close the door.... You could make it have a flat spot on the bottom of the spiral where, when the gate is open, it sits on the flat and stays open. Then when you give the gate a shove (in the closing direction) it drops off the flat, and gravity forces the hinge to spiral the gate closed. Therefore, the spiral on the pin would have to clear 12 vertical (longitudinal) inches within a 90 degree rotation. Bare in mind, that the larger the diameter of the pin, the less of an actual angle the spiral will have In turn, the amount of force it would take to open the gate will be less and less as the diameter of the pin gets greater and greater.... -Hillbilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia Holmes Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Id just say add a guard to hide the lines of how far the gate is attached. See if the customer would be in to that. To me, it looks nice, just need to block up that open space so you can trick the eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Aspery Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 I'm with John B and the offset pins or hinge points. A hinge does not have to be inline with the hinge stile, it can be offset. I don't like outward opening gates as they are fraught with problems (with pedestrians and the like). I think that this is the "ratio of like-triangles". If the bottom rail needs to lift 15 degrees, then the hinge pivot points need to be offset 15 degrees. Take an 8 foot wide gate that needs to lift 12 inches at the latch stile when open. The hinge pivot points are 4 feet apart to make this easy. Divide the run of the gate by the distance of the pivot pins 8 divided by 4 = 2 Divide the 12 inch lift by 2 to get 6. The hinges need to be 6 inches offset from one another - with the bottom hinge further up the hill. Picture a bottom hinge that is further up the hill (drive in this case) than the gate. When the gate opens inwards, the hinge stile will be placed at an angle and so the gate will lift at the latch stile. Gravity will help close the gate. The top hinge hs to allow the hinge stile to move - so it needs to be a little lose. You can do this on a smaller (pedestrian gate) to get a self closing gate. I have a photo somewhere, let me see if I can find it as it will probable show what is taking me an age to describe. Look for another posting... This is also a nice way of getting a gate to recess into an alcove - such as an entryway to a church or public building. In this case both hinge pivot points are moved away from the hinge stile and into the alcove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Good to see your doing well Mark, hope you have a speedy recovery. I have always liked that hinge method but would be concerned about the pinch point of operation, I would hate for a small child to get a part snipped off. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jock Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 I have made and installed several gates with this problem. The formular is. Hinge centres x lift divided by length divided by two.The top hinge is fitted to the gate between the posts. The bottom hinge is fitted to the inside of the gate post and a L shaped bracket on the inside of the gate. I used 1/2 aluminium ball joints obtained from a general bearing supplier. The beauty of this system is the ball joints don't have to swivel as much and the gate is perfectly horizontal In both the closed and open positions. I used hydraulic arm automations but can be manual as well. hope this is of help to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jock Posted March 2, 2016 Share Posted March 2, 2016 OOps. that should have been perfectly plumb vertically. NOT HORIZONTAL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowland Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I realise this is an old thread but amazed at the answers. Overthinking! 12 " is easy as long as you don't have a little dog or something to contain. Just give the bottom a 12" taper up Makes a nice feature in the design Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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