DE20007907U1 - Automatic gate to let an animal through - Google Patents

Description

SCHOPPE, CARPENTER

Patent Attorneys · PO Box 710867 ■ 81458 Munich

sab Service and production of automatic door systems and components GmbH & Co. KG Michael-Haslbeckstr. 13 85640 Putzbrunn

PATENT ATTORNEYS

European Patent Attorneys European Trademark Attorneys

Fritz Schoppe, Dipl.-Ing.
Tankred Zimmermann, Dipl.-Ing. Ferdinand Stöckeier, Dipl.-Ing.

Telephone/Telephone 089/790445-0 Fax/Facsimile 089/790 22 1 5 Fax/Facsimile 089/74996977

email 101345.3117@CompuServe.com

Automatic gate to let an animal through

Postal address: P. O. Box 710867, 81458 Munich

Kaqsl,eignphrift/.Offjfie address: Ir-rngardstrafts 28,61479 Munich

Bank details/BaOk3rS;JHypcVete5näDfen(jGi-ürjw§ld, ^or^qnijmriTer 2§6Q155028 (BLZ 700202 70) &^Φ.Φ. Mynp.hea.'^ontoriyifnrter 315w*2O»S0S (BLZ*TÖ0iÖ080)
VAT ID No./VAT Registration Number DE 130575439

Automatic gate to let an animal through Description

The present invention relates to the field of animal husbandry, in particular the keeping of free-roaming animals, and in particular the invention relates to gates for allowing animals to pass from one area to another, such as a cat from a living area to the outside and vice versa.

When keeping free-roaming animals, such as cats, the problem arises that the animals must be given the opportunity, particularly in winter, to get from an indoor area to an outdoor area and vice versa. Cats in particular want to run back and forth between an indoor area, such as an apartment, and a garden very often, so that the effort required by the cat owner to open a door or window to let the cat in and out is very high. Consequently, either a person must be present at all times to open a door or window, or a cellar window or the like is left open, for example, to allow the animal, such as a cat, to move back and forth between an indoor area and an outdoor area at will. The disadvantage in the latter case is that the corresponding indoor area cools down and it is possible for an unwanted stranger to enter the interior.

If a shed or the like is available, it is possible for the animal owner to provide it with an opening, such as a circular opening in the wooden door of a wooden shed. Although these openings are sized so that the animal in question, but not a human, such as a thief, can enter

can penetrate the interior, the provision of these permanent openings has the disadvantage that the interior area in question cools down considerably in winter.

Openings with pivotable flaps are therefore known in the prior art. In these openings, for example, a hinge that can pivot in both directions, i.e. inwards and outwards, is mounted between an upper end of the opening and a flap, so that in a normal state the flap hangs down by weight and covers the opening, but it can still pivot in both directions so that the animal in question can push the flap open with its head, for example, to get in or out. Although these flap openings avoid the problem of cooling associated with a permanent opening, and although these openings are small enough to prevent thieves from entering the interior, these flap devices do not prevent other living creatures, such as mice, rats and the like, from entering the interior. In the case of cats, for example, it is possible that not only the house's own cat enters through the opening, but also that other cats, such as the neighbor's cats, use the opening to get into the interior, such as the basement.

Another disadvantage of flap openings is that the resistance to opening the flap in both directions must be low enough to allow the pet to open the flap without problems. This makes it impossible to use seals that thermally insulate the gap between the flap and the opening when the flap is closed and seal it against moisture, as the frictional forces associated with this would be too great.

The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic gate for letting an animal through, so that the entry of unwanted creatures, such as e.g.

same species but unwanted animals, and only an animal with a certain identity can pass through

The gate according to the invention for allowing an animal with a specific identity to pass through has an identity indicating device carried by the animal and associated with the animal. A detection device detects the presence of the identity indicating device within a defined area relative to the gate, an actuating device opening the gate in response to the presence of the identity indicating device within the defined area to allow the animal to pass through.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the gate is arranged in the outer wall of a house between a living area and a garden and is specifically intended for the house cat of this apartment. In this embodiment, the gate is designed as a sliding door, with a transmitting/receiving device being provided above the sliding door. The house cat wears a collar to which a passive transponder is attached, which is excited by an excitation signal from the transmitting/receiving device to emit a coded signal, such as a digitally modulated electromagnetic wave. The coded signal has a maximum range up to which the coded signal is detected by the detection device. The maximum range defines a defined area or a trigger area around the sliding door in which the cat must be located in order for the detection device to detect the presence of the cat near the sliding door. According to the invention, it is assumed that the presence of the cat near the sliding door corresponds to a desire of the cat to get through the gate. In a first operating state, the sliding door is therefore opened by a drive device as soon as the presence of the cat in the defined area has been detected.

According to a further embodiment, several operating states can be set. In a second operating state, for example, the sliding door remains closed even if the presence of the cat has been detected in the defined area, so that the cat cannot get through the gate. The owner of the indoor cat can select this operating state to prevent the cat from getting outside.

In a further embodiment, two transmitting/receiving devices are used to provide two corresponding triggering areas, one of which is located on the interior side and the other on the exterior side of the door. Consequently, in this embodiment, the presence of the cat or the passive transponder carried along is monitored in either a first or a second defined area or an inner or an outer area in front of or behind the sliding door, so that it is possible to allow the cat to pass through the sliding door either from the inside to the outside or from the outside to the inside. In a first operating state, the transmitting/receiving device is switched off both inside and outside, so that the cat cannot pass through the sliding door in either direction. In a second operating state, the sliding door is opened regardless of whether the signal from the passive transponder is detected in the inner or outer defined area. In a third and fourth operating state, the sliding door is only opened when the signal from the passive transponder is detected in one of the two areas, so that the cat can either get from the inside to the outside or from the outside to the inside.

According to a further embodiment, the sliding door is designed as a two-wing sliding door with a standard size of either 500 x 350 mm, 800 x 500 mm or 1,000 x 700 mm, whereby only one of two wings is movable, and the drive device is mounted such that

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can be expanded again.

An advantage of the present invention is that by using the automatic gate according to the invention, it is possible for the animal owner, on the one hand, to give the animal the opportunity to pass through the gate whenever it wants and regardless of whether the animal owner is present or not, and on the other hand it is possible to prevent unwanted animals, such as mice, rats, or animals of the same species as the animal in question but foreign to them, from entering the interior.

A further advantage of the present invention is that, by using an actuating device to open the gate, it is possible to thermally insulate the gate in the closed state and to seal it against moisture, since the frictional resistance caused by such seals when opening the gate does not have to be overcome by the animal itself, but is overcome by the actuating device.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a situation in which a cat intends to pass through an automatic gate according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical side elevational view of a sliding door used in an automatic gate according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section of the sliding door of Fig. 2 in a plan view.

Referring first to Figure 1, there is illustrated a situation in which a cat 10 wishes to pass through an automatic gate according to the present invention.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the automatic gate has a sliding door 20 arranged in an outer wall 30 and a transmitting/receiving device 40 which is attached to the wall 30 above the sliding door 20. The sliding door 20 is shown in Fig. 1 in an open state in which a wing 50 of the sliding door 20 does not extend into an opening 60 defined by the sliding door 20. In the open state, it is therefore possible for the cat 10 to walk through the opening 60 in order to get from an interior area 70 to an exterior area 80. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the wall 30 is an exterior wall which separates a living area 70 from a garden 80, with the transmitting/receiving device 40 attached to the side of the wall 30 facing the interior area 70.

As shown in Fig. 1, the cat 10 has a collar 90 to which a passive transponder 100 is attached as an identity-indicating device. The passive transponder 100 can be excited by an excitation signal that is continuously emitted by the transceiver 40 to emit a signal that is uniquely assigned to the cat 10 that is carrying this passive transponder 100 by means of a special code. The signal emitted by the passive transponder 100 has a maximum range up to which the signal strength of the signal at the location of the transceiver 40 is sufficient for the transceiver 40 to receive the signal and thereby detect the presence of the transponder 100 or the cat 10 in the vicinity of the sliding door 20. This range consequently defines a defined area around the opening 60 in the inner area 70, which is indicated in Fig. 1 by a dashed line 110

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is indicated and for which it applies that, when the transponder 100 is located in the same, the signal strength of the signal at the location of the transmitting/receiving device 40 is sufficiently high

The operation of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 will now be described. As already mentioned, the cat 10 is located in a living area 70. According to the present invention, it is assumed that when the cat 10 is near the sliding door 20, the cat 10 intends to enter the garden 80 through the opening 60. In order to avoid the cat 10 frequently passing close to the sliding door 20 without wanting to enter the garden 80 through the opening 60, it is preferred that the sliding door 20 is arranged at a location along the wall 30 which is otherwise rarely frequented by the cat 10 (i.e. if the cat 10 does not want to enter the garden 80).

If the cat 10 now wants to enter the garden 80, the distance between the cat 10 and the transmitting/receiving device 40 decreases as the cat 10 approaches the sliding door 20. The transmitting/receiving device 40, as already mentioned, sends out an excitation signal which couples into an internal circuit (not shown) of the passive transponder 100 and excites the same in order to send a signal which is uniquely assigned to the cat 10. As the distance between the transmitting/receiving device 40 and the trolley 10 decreases, the signal strength of the transmitted signal increases at the location of the transmitting/receiving device 40. As soon as the signal strength exceeds a certain threshold value or a minimum signal strength, or as soon as the transponder 100 enters the defined area 110, the transmitting/receiving device 40 detects the presence of the transponder 100 in the defined area 110. If the signal has the code assigned to the trolley 10, the transmitting/receiving device 40 triggers the opening of the sliding door 20. The transmitting/receiving device

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The catch device 40 can, for example, signal a drive device (not shown) to pull the wing 50 of the sliding door 20 to the side to allow passage through the opening 60. After the sliding door 20 has been opened, the cat 10 will go through the opening 60 into the garden 80, with the sliding door 20 then closing again. In the embodiment shown, the door is closed again, for example, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, with the drive device (not shown) moving the wing 50 into the opening 60 to close it.

It is desirable not to select the defined area 110 too large or the threshold value for the signal strength too small in order to prevent the defined area or the trigger area 110 from being too large and the cat 10 from frequently entering the defined area 110 without wanting to enter the garden 80 through the opening 60.

It should be noted that although in the previous embodiment of Fig. 1 the transponder 100 is a passive transponder, any device that enables the identity of the cat 10 to be determined can be used instead. Such a device further comprises, for example, an active transponder, in which case the transmitting/receiving device could be replaced by a receiving device, since the active transponder would actively transmit the signal of the code uniquely assigned to the cat, such as using a battery, without having to be excited by an excitation signal. An identity-indicating device could also be any device for emitting an electromagnetic wave or a sound, such as a light-emitting diode, an infrared transmitter, an ultrasonic transmitter or the like. In this case the emitted signal would not have to be coded, but would, for example, only

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have a specific frequency spectrum that is uniquely assigned to the cat. In this case too, the transmitting/receiving device would be replaced by a corresponding receiver, i.e. a receiver for electromagnetic radiation or a microphone. It would also be possible to use a bar code or a similar pattern, which is provided, for example, on the surface of the collar 90, as the identity-indicating device in order to enable the identity of the cat 10 to be determined. In this case, the transmitting/receiving device would be replaced by a bar code laser or a similar optical system that can recognize the code and, upon detection of this code, can trigger the opening of the sliding door 20. In this case, the defined area 110 is defined by the field of view that the optical system or the bar code laser has.

It is also pointed out that in the case of a transponder or a device for emitting electromagnetic radiation or sound as an identity indicating device, it is also possible to implant this identity indicating device under the skin of the cat and not to attach it to a collar. In the case of animals other than cats, a foot band could also be used as a carrier for the transponder. The only important thing is that the identity indicating device is carried by the cat at all times and cannot be removed.

Although it has been described above that the defined area 110 is determined by the range of the identity indicating device, it is also possible to use separately a receiving device for receiving the signal and a device for detecting the presence of the cat in the defined area. For example, next to the transmitting/receiving device shown in Fig. 1, a heat sensor could be mounted which detects the presence of any living being when it is in the defined area. Opening the sliding door

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would then be triggered if both the signal with the special code and the presence of a living being were detected.

With respect to the threshold value for the signal strength, it is preferred that this threshold value can be set by the cat owner in order to enable the cat owner to suitably set the defined area or the trigger area with respect to the extent around the sliding door.

It should be noted that, contrary to the previous description that the signal is uniquely associated with the cat, it is also possible to use a signal which is not uniquely associated with the cat but which nevertheless allows the gate to be opened only with a low probability for other animals or other events. According to the invention, the signal must at least be able to prevent animals from passing through the gate without an identity-indicating device. In the case of an infrared transmitter or an ultrasonic transmitter as the identity-indicating device, the frequency spectrum of the same preferably does not overlap with the frequency spectrum of surrounding electrical devices, such as a lamp or a stereo system, in order to avoid opening the gate in response to other events, such as the interior lighting being switched on.

It is further noted that the specific arrangement as shown in Fig. 1 is not essential to the invention. Although it has been described above that the interior area 70 is a living area and that the exterior area 80 is a garden, it is possible to use the invention wherever two areas are separated from each other by a wall. Although it is preferable to arrange the defined area or the trigger area directly around the sliding door by placing the transmitting/receiving

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If the receiving device is arranged directly above the sliding door, for example as shown in Fig. 1, it is also possible to select another useful defined area and arrange the transmitting/receiving device at a different location. The transmitting/receiving device can be installed above a cellar door, for example, while the sliding door is located on an outside cellar wall, so that if a cat runs from a living room into the cellar, the opening of the sliding door is already triggered when the cat runs through the cellar door.

It is also pointed out that, although it has been described above that the sliding door 20 always opens in response to the detection of the presence of the transponder within the defined area, different response behaviors of the automatic gate according to the invention can also be provided. According to one embodiment, the automatic gate according to the invention has two operating states or two different response behaviors and a defined area, such as the one shown in Fig. 1. In the first operating state, the door is always opened, as described above, if the cat's transponder is within the trigger area. In a second operating state, the door remains closed regardless of where the cat is, which may be desired by a cat owner, for example, if the owner leaves the apartment for a weekend and the cat is not to leave the apartment during this time.

According to a second embodiment, the automatic gate according to the invention has four operating states and two defined areas or trigger areas, i.e. one within the interior area and one within the exterior area. For example, the second trigger area could be mirrored to the trigger area shown in Fig. 1. In a first operating state, the automatic gate is switched off, so that the sliding

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door does not open under any circumstances. In a second operating state, the sliding door opens as soon as the transponder or the cat is in one of the two trigger areas, so that the cat can get from the inside to the outside and from the outside to the inside; in a third operating state, the sliding door is opened if the cat is in the trigger area inside the interior, but not opened if the cat is in the trigger area outside the exterior. Consequently, in the third operating state, the cat can get through the sliding door from the inside to the outside but not from the outside to the inside. Conversely, in a fourth operating state, the sliding door is only opened if the cat enters the trigger area inside the exterior, but not opened if the cat enters the trigger area inside the interior. In this case, the cat can get through the sliding door from the outside to the inside but not from the inside to the outside.

The operating states described above could be set, for example, using a rotary switch or several buttons that are housed in a box together with the transmitting/receiving device and an internal logic. It is also possible to implement a time control to enable the cat owner to program a daily routine with regard to the operating states, for example.

It is noted that it is also possible to close the sliding door in a different way to that described above. In the case of two trigger zones, i.e. one in the interior and one in the exterior, it could be provided, for example, to open the sliding door upon detecting the presence of the cat in one trigger zone and to close the sliding door as soon as the cat leaves the second trigger zone.

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Reference is now made to Figs. 2 and 3 which show various views of a sliding door which may be used in the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a side elevational section of the sliding door, with Fig. 3 showing a partially sectioned plan view thereof. The sectional view of Fig. 3 is indicated at B in Fig. 2, with the sectional view of Fig. 2 being indicated at C in Fig. 3.

The sliding door of Figs. 2 and 3 is a double-leaf sliding door which is installed, for example, in an external wall to separate an internal area 200 from an external area 210. The sliding door is formed as a unit and comprises a frame with an upper frame member 220a, a lower frame member 220b and two side frame members 220c (only one side frame member is shown in Fig. 3). A canopy 230 is attached to the upper frame member 220a by means of a screw 240. A baseboard 250 is attached to the lower frame member 220b which, when the sliding door is installed in a wall, runs along the floor in the external area 210. The frame with the elements 220a - 220c has T-shaped projections 260a - 2601 on its outer surface to enable better engagement between a wall and the frame.

In the frame, two rail support elements 290 and 300 are attached to the upper and lower frame elements 220a and 220b by means of screws 270 and 280. Two parallel rails 310a, 310b, 320a and 320b are attached to the rail support elements 290 and 300, respectively. A movable wing 330 extends between the upper rail 310a and the lower rail 320a and is guided by the rails 310a and 320a in order to be movable laterally. A second wing 340 extends between the rails 310b and 320b and is normally also guided by the rails 310b and 320b in order to be movable laterally, but this wing 340 is locked in this embodiment.

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As can be seen, the wings 330 and 340 consist of a first lateral wall 350 and 360, respectively, and a second lateral wall 370 and 380, respectively, which are parallel to one another. It can also be seen that the space between the lateral walls 350 - 380 is divided into several sections. In particular, an inner section 390 and 400 is defined by an enclosed space which is delimited by the lateral walls 360, 380 and intermediate connecting walls 410 and 420, respectively, the lateral walls 350 and 370 and intermediate connecting walls 430 and 440 (and two further walls, not shown).

The inner sections 390 and 400 are surrounded by side sections. First side limiting sections 450 and 460 are provided to be laterally attached to the wings 330 and 340, respectively, and to allow sliders 470a, 470b and 480 to be fixedly connected to the wings 330 and 340, respectively, via the side limiting sections 450 and 460. The slider 470a is guided by the lower rail 320a, while the slider 470b is guided by the upper rail 310a. Both sliders 470a and 470b are connected to the movable wing 330 via the side limiting section 450 and are further connected to a drive device (not shown) via a suitable means, such as a belt.

Thus, as previously mentioned, once a suitable event is detected, such as the cat being in a trigger zone, the drive device (not shown) is actuated to move the sliders 470a and 470b via a belt (not shown) to thereby displace the movable wing laterally as indicated by an arrow 490.

Although, as described above, the lateral limiting portion 460 with the sliders 480

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(only one is shown in Figs. 2 and 3), in the present embodiment the sliders 480 are locked so that the wing 340 is fixed.

Furthermore, the inner section 400 or 390 of the two wings 330 or 340 is delimited on the side opposite the delimiting section 450 or 460 by an open delimiting section 500 (the open delimiting section of the wing 340 is not visible in Fig. 3). The open delimiting section 500 is delimited laterally by the side walls 370 and 350 and with respect to the inner section 400 by the intermediate connecting wall 440. As can be seen in Fig. 3, the open delimiting section 500 has a slot 510 into which a sealing lip 520 protrudes in a closed state, which extends between the lower rail support element 300 and the upper rail support element 290 along the side frame element 220c. As can be seen, the open boundary portion 500 has seals 530a and 530b on the side walls 370 and 350 which, when the vane 330 is in a closed state, are located between the sealing lip 520 and the side walls 350 and 370 to provide thermal insulation and moisture protection.

The inner sections 390 and 400 of the two wings 330 and 340 are delimited at the top and bottom by an upper and lower open delimiting section 540 and 550, respectively. The upper open delimiting section 540 (only the upper delimiting section of the wing 340 is shown, but the same section is also present in the other wing 330) is delimited by the side walls 360 and 380 and the intermediate connecting wall 410 and has a slot 560 opposite the intermediate connecting wall 410 into which the rail 310b projects. The upper open delimiting section 540 has seals 570a and 570b attached to the side walls 360 and 380, which are located between the rail 310b and the side walls 360 and 380.

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to provide thermal insulation and moisture protection. Corresponding to the upper open boundary portion 540, the lower open boundary portion 550 is defined by the side walls 360 and 380 and the intermediate connecting wall 420 and has a slot 580 opposite the intermediate connecting wall 420 into which the lower rail 320b projects. The lower open boundary portion 550 further has seals 590a and 590b attached to the side walls 360 and 380, respectively, located between the side walls 380 and 360 and the lower rail 320b to provide thermal insulation and moisture protection.

In order to provide thermal insulation and moisture protection also between the two wings 330 and 340, a seal 600 is located in the middle of the frame, which runs parallel to and exactly between the side frame elements 220c.

It is noted that although the sliding door described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 is a double-leaf sliding door, it is also possible to use a sliding door with only one leaf. Regarding the size and dimensions of the sliding door unit shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the standard sizes 500 x 350 mm, 800 x 500 mm and 1,000 x 700 mm are preferred when using the sliding door for cats. It is also preferred that the drive device (not shown) is mounted in such a way that it can be easily removed.

It should be noted that, although a sliding door for use in the automatic gate according to the invention has been described in detail above with reference to Figures 2 and 3, it is also possible to use other means for closing an opening, such as a pivoting door, a window or the like. In these various embodiments of the closing device, additional measures known in the art can be used.

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to prevent the animal from injuring itself during the closing or opening process. For example, in the case of a sliding door, the maximum force of the drive mechanism could be set in such a way that an animal that is between the sealing lip and the closing leaf is not crushed.

Finally, it should also be noted that the invention is not only applicable to cats as described above, but that the present invention is also applicable to other animal species and other animal husbandry, such as livestock farming. The present invention can be applied, for example, to a dog breeder who provides each of his dogs with a transponder with a different code. Each dog could, for example, have its own enclosure, each of which is connected to an outdoor enclosure. The breeder can provide each enclosure with an automatic gate according to the present invention, so that each dog can move back and forth between its enclosure and the outdoor enclosure at will, but conversely a dog cannot get into a foreign enclosure because the code on its transponder does not match the code required to open the corresponding automatic gate.

The present invention is therefore able to enable a gate to be opened automatically as soon as a certain animal is in a trigger area, but the gate remains closed for any other (unwanted) animal.

Claims (17)

1. Automatic gate for the passage of an animal ( 10 ) with a specific identity with
an identity indicating device ( 100 ) carried by the animal and associated with the animal ( 10 );
a detection device ( 40 ) for detecting the presence of the identity indicating device ( 100 ) within a defined area ( 110 ) relative to the gate ( 20 ); and
an actuator for opening the gate ( 20 ) in response to the presence of the identity indicating device ( 100 ) within the defined area ( 110 ) to allow the animal ( 10 ) to pass through. 2. Automatic gate according to claim 1, wherein the identity indicating device ( 100 ) comprises a transmitting device for transmitting a signal associated with the animal and the detecting device ( 40 ) comprises a receiving device for receiving the signal. 3. Automatic gate according to claim 2, wherein the signal is an electromagnetic wave or sound with a specific frequency spectrum. 4. Automatic gate according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the signal comprises a digital code. 5. Automatic gate according to claim 4, wherein the code is adjustable. 6. Automatic gate according to one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the transmitting device ( 100 ) comprises a light-emitting diode, an infrared transmitter, an ultrasonic transmitter or an active transponder. 7. Automatic gate according to one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising the following feature:
an excitation device ( 40 ) for emitting an excitation signal,
wherein the transmitting device ( 100 ) is a passive transponder that is excited by the excitation signal to transmit the signal. 8. Automatic gate according to one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the signal has a limited range, the detection means ( 40 ) detecting the presence of the identity indicating device ( 100 ) if the receiving means ( 40 ) receives the signal. 9. Automatic gate according to one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the signal has a limited range, the detection device ( 40 ) detecting the presence of the identity indicating device ( 100 ) if the signal at the location of the receiving device ( 40 ) exceeds a minimum signal strength. 10. Automatic gate according to claim 9, wherein the minimum signal strength is adjustable. 11. An automatic gate according to claim 1, wherein the identity indicating device ( 100 ) comprises a bar code, the detection device ( 40 ) comprising a limited field of view optical system for detecting the bar code in the defined area. 12. Automatic gate according to one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the identity indicating device ( 100 ) is attached to a collar ( 90 ) or to a leg collar of the animal ( 10 ), or is implanted under the skin of the animal ( 10 ). 13. Automatic gate according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the gate is located between an interior area ( 70 ) and an exterior area ( 80 ), and wherein the automatic gate further comprises the following feature:
a second detection device for detecting the presence of the identity indicating device within a second defined area,
wherein the first defined region ( 110 ) is located in either the interior region ( 70 ) or the exterior region ( 80 ) and the second region is located in the other region, and
wherein the actuating device has various adjustable operating states, wherein in a first operating state the actuating device responds to the presence of the identity-indicating device ( 100 ) within the first and second defined areas ( 110 ), in a second operating state not at all, in a third operating state only to the presence of the identity-indicating device ( 100 ) within the first defined area ( 110 ), and in a fourth operating state only to the presence of the identity-indicating device ( 100 ) within the second defined area to open the gate ( 20 ). 14. Automatic gate according to one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the animal ( 10 ) is a cat ( 10 ). 15. Automatic gate according to one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the door ( 20 ) is a sliding door ( 20 ), a swing door or a window. 16. Automatic gate according to one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the gate ( 20 ) is a sliding door, and the actuating device comprises a drive device for laterally displacing a leaf ( 50 ) of the sliding door ( 20 ). 17. An automatic gate according to claim 16, wherein the drive device can be easily removed.