The ‘Sportster VL’ lift gate is manufactured first and foremost on the premise of safety in the workplace. Working back from worst-case scenarios, every conceivable safety feature is built in. 

 

An “infra red safety beam” runs between the towers at 18” off the floor. If someone is standing between the towers, the Down button will not function.  If someone presses the Down button and then walks between the towers, the door will stop and then reverse up. The door will not come down if someone enters the approach area of the door.

 

A flexible electric safety switch is mounted continuously on the underside of the door. If the door gently touches an object on the way down, it will stop and reverse up again. This electric switch is also heated with an internal heating cable, so that it cannot freeze to the threshold and get torn off when the door is raised. This ensures that the safety switch is not damaged under normal use.

 

The lifting cables are 3/16” diameter stainless steel, with twice the lifting capacity of the design load of the door. Because these cables are stainless steel, they will not deteriorate due to rust.

 

Both carriages inside the towers are equipped with mechanical fail-safe brakes. A slack in a cable will cause the brake to engage. 

 

If one lifting cable is cut, the brake locks into the side of the tower at 5” intervals; the maximum fall from any height equals 5” on that side. If both cables are cut, both brakes lock into the towers; the maximum fall from any height equals 5” on both sides. Once a broken cable is replaced, the brakes retract again automatically, when the door is lifted again by the cables. 

 

It is unusual for a #50 motor drive chain to break. If a drive chain does break, the door will creep down slowly until about half way and then stop. This is due to the almost weightlessness of the doors. If both cables are cut and the drive chain breaks at the same time, then the mechanical brakes will engage and stop the door within a 5” interval from any height.

 

If the spring tension is disengaged, the weight of the door is held by the motor brake and the motor chain drive.

 

In case of a motor failure or power failure, the door can be operated manually. With the pull of one lever, the door can be powered up and down quickly with a hand held, battery-operated drill (the drill adapter is supplied).

 

Alternately, the door can be powered manually up and down with a separate pull chain that is geared for practical use in an emergency or an ongoing situation. There is no requirement for an emergency service call and a Sport Systems technician can be on site in a short time. We also offer yearly inspections and maintenance services.

 

The lift gate is anchored to the perimeter slab concrete. It is free standing and requires no mounting to additional structural support. It can be relocated without cutting, welding or modification.

 

Every part has been engineered in 3D Auto CAD, and is manufactured using CNC laser cutting to ensure consistency and the smooth operation of moving parts, reducing wear and the possibility of mechanical failure. 

 

Moving parts are concealed within the support towers. All the parts are replaceable without cutting or welding. All the moving parts are mounted with high quality bearings. 

 

Numerous adaptations are built-in to prevent mechanical failure under the many stresses of normal use. Rigorous testing has been done in our plant to ensure that the unit will not be damaged and will not fail during exaggerated stresses. 

 

Many quality control procedures are performed during production. The mountings to the board system are fully adjustable to suit changing site conditions so that board alignment can be maintained. All the manufacturing, mounting and electrical, is done in our plant and each unit is shipped “installation ready” to the site.        

 

The door will fully open or close with a push of a button. A keyed “lock-out” is mounted below the up-down-stop buttons to prevent unauthorized use. A pre-programmed remote control is included with every one of our lift gates. 

 

The Sportster VL gate runs on a ¾ HP motor on single-phase 220 volt (60 Hertz) power, drawing 7 amps.  A 25 amp circuit is recommended.

 

The motor is a widely-used commercial grade that is preferred for its durability and reliability. It has a built-in brake that momentarily stops before switching directions, which saves wear and tear on the motor and the gear box drive. 

 

The balancing springs are flat wire, which is stronger than round wire and each spring is engineered to the specific weight of the door it will be lifting. The width of the door and the size of the glass determines the weight of each door. This almost perfect spring balancing makes the door virtually ‘weightless’ as it travels in both directions and puts minimal stress on the motor, brake and gear box. It also makes operating the gate by manual chain battery-powered drill (if necessary) practical. 

 

Every Sportster VL gate is certified at the time of installation by a Sport Systems Unlimited installer.

 

Operating instructions are placed at appropriate areas on the towers.

 

 

This lifting device is fully integrated and precisely built to ensure its longevity and reliable service. It is specifically designed for this application and is superior to any other “Machine Gate Lifting Device” developed to this date. With a yearly inspection and service by Sport Systems, you can expect no liabilities or down time. Yearly servicing involves our inspection of the electrical components, safety devices, cables, gears, door alignment, lubrication and the replacement of worn components. If any work is done on this device by other than Sport Systems, it should be inspected by Sport Systems as soon as possible afterwards.