Automatic Farm Gate

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Automatic Farm Gate

• INTEREGR 160
• Instructor Prof. John Murphy
• SA Brandon Dudley
• December 12, 2006

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Outline

• Background
• Problem Statement
• Gantt Chart
• Brainstorming
• Preliminary Designs
• Evaluation

• Integrated Design
• Construction Materials
• Testing
• Budget
• Alternative Design
• Summary

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Background Information

• Mark Novak and AgrAbility Project
• Americas aging farming populations need
  labor-saving devices to assist their everyday
  task
• Currently, farm gate must be opened manually
  after exiting a vehicle
• Current products in the market are unsatisfactory
  (expensive and must be bought as a package with a
  new gate)

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Problem Statement

• Our goal is to design an automated gate to meet
  the needs of the aging and disabled farming
  population. The gate will be remotely opened and
  closed to reduce the amount of physical labor
  required to operate the gate. We will be
  providing the farmers with a safer, inexpensive,
  and reliable system that can be easily
  constructed and operated

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Timeline Gantt Chart
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Brainstorming Small Group and Big Group

• Sliding gate
• Swinging gate
• Drop down gate
• Flip down gate
• Lamborghini (pivot) gate
• Double swinging gate
• Wheeled gate
• Rotating gate

• Solar powered
• Pulley system
• Gear motored
• Screw drive powered
• Magnetic lock
• Ground switch
• Rechargeable battery
• Rotary powered
• Gates of fire

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Brainstorming Continues
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Preliminary Small Teams Design

• Screw drive powered sliding gate
• Sliding gate powered by spring loaded wheels
• Rack and pinion sliding gate
• Geared power swinging gate

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Evaluation Criteria

• Safety
• Durability
• Reliability
• Accessibility
• Simplicity

• Cost
• Time
• Serviceability
• Adaptability
• Manual Operation

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Integrated Design Prototype

• A swinging gate powered by a motorized wheel
  attached to the gate
• Motorized wheel bought from Tecel
• Spring loaded shock system attached to the wheel
  to accommodate rough terrains
• A solenoid powered latch
• ½ scale prototype (3 ft x 8 ft)
• Radio receiver and transmitter to apply power and
  switch direction of motor

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Material Budget Breakdown

• PVCs (Home Depot) Total 27.63
• 5 - 10 ft, 1 inch PVC pipes
• 4 - 1 inch L connectors
• 8 1 inch T connectors
• 3 1 inch X connectors
• 2 Gate Hinges (Ace Hardware) 10
• Gate attachment
• Support attachment
• 6 Bolts (3/8 inches course)
• 2 nuts (3/8 inches course)
• Nuts Bolts (Ace Hardware) 18.17
• 4 guidance bolts
• 2 stabilizer bolts
• 1 threaded U bolt
• 8 nuts
• 8 washers
• 3 fine thread bolts

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Material Budget Breakdown cont.

• Tubular Solenoid, Pull Type, 1.00 (25 mm) DIA X
  2.00 (51 mm) L 12 DC volts continuous cycle
  (ElectroMechanicsOnline) 47.82
• 2 Channel Rolling Code RF Remote and Receiver
  (Cars Electronics) 45.00
• Continuous Length Compression Springs (McMaster
  Carr) 14.51 UNUSED
• 2 Way Lockable Gate Latch (Northern Tool
  Equipment) 27.53 UNUSED
• Motorized Wheel 7 inches diameter (TECEL) 48.00
• Radioshack Electrical Supplies Total 22.96
• 2 DPDT 10Amp 12 VDC Relays
• ½ Amp Slow Blow Fuse
• 5 Amp Slow Blow Fuse
• 2 Kill Switches (Amazon.com) 9.98 UNUSED
• Battery
• Latches assembly
• 1 1 washer
• 1/8 x ¼ x 4 3/8 metal bar
• Wheel Attachment Aseembly
• 3 metal plates
• 1 spring 2 inches diameter

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Total Budget

• Total spent 271. 60
• Total used on prototype 219.57
• Theoretical budget for user 100.00 - 200.00
• Battery sold separately

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Constructions

• Order of materials
• PVC gate construction
• Spring loaded shock system construction
• Attachment of motorized wheel to the shock system
• Development of electrical details
• Development of latching mechanism
• Full assembly

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Prototype
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Latch Design
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Wheels Detail
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Electronics

• Powered by 12V automobile battery
• Two channel radio transmitter/receiver
• Radio signals activate relays, allowing current
  to power the motor and latch
• Signal 1 trips relay 1, allowing current to flow
  in one direction
• Signal 2 trips relay 2, allowing current to flow
  in the opposite direction

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Designs Advantages

• Only simple modification needed to be done on the
  existing gate
• Less chances of physical injury (compared to gear
  or pulley system)
• Works in various terrains
• Can be manually opened in case of power outage
• Only require small power (enough to be powered by
  a battery)

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Testing

• Preliminary computations to prevent later
  problems
• Testing on the remote control system
• Testing on the locking mechanism
• Testing on the strength of the wheel
• Testing on the shock system
• Testing power source and other electronic
  components

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Alternative Design Adaptation

• Larger wheels will be needed for full-scale gate
• Improvement on the locking mechanism (stronger
  solenoid)
• Alternative spring loaded shock system
  (suspension system)
• Extensive weather and terrain factorization

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Special Thanks To

• Prof. John Murphy
• Our SA Brandon J. Dudley
• SA Amit Nimunkar
• Burke ONeal
• Countless efforts of fellow team members
• COE Student Shop

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Questions?