AU2003100852A4 - Floating Hinge Arrangement for a Farm Gate - Google Patents

Description

10-00. 2003 22:19 Wallinston Dummer No 6489 P. 4 P/00/009 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 INNOVATION PATENT APPLICATION Invention Title: FLOATING HINGE ARRANGEMENT FOR A FARM GATE The invention is described in the following statement: Our Reft 036007 COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 2003 22:19 Wallington Dummer N o 6 4 8 9 P 2 FLOATING HINGE ARANGEMENT FOR A OAtM GATE The present invention relates to gates in fences and, in particular, to hinged gates for fence openings on sloping ground.

BACKGROUND

Conventionally hinged gates are frequently awkward to install and use in fence lines which traverse sloping ground. Because the hinge axis is constrained in a generally vertical line parallel to the supporting post, there may be an undesirably large gap between the underside of the gate and the ground, either at the supporting post end or at the outer end of the fence, depending on the direction of the slope.

Especially in the case of longer gates such as are generally required on farms for the passage of stock and farm machinery, the conflict between sloping ground and a horizontal gate becomes problematical.

It is an object of the present invention to ameliorate some of these disadvantages or at least provide a useful alternative.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Accordingly, in one broad form of the invention there is provided a hinge arrangement, said hinge arrangement adapted for the support of a gate in a fence opening so as COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 2003 22:19 Wallington Dummer No.6489 P. 6 3 to orient the hinge axis of said gate normal to the line of slope of the ground through said opening.

Preferably said arrangement comprises of a lower hinge element and an upper hinge element, said lower and upper elements adapted for attachment to one side of a fence post.

Preferably said lower hinge element is comprised of a bracket adapted for attachment to a fence post and a vertical pivot pin.

Preferably said upper bracket is in the form of a Ushaped strap and where one side of said U-shaped strap is adapted for attachment to a fence post so that the long axis of the U of said strap is substantially parallel to the line of the fence and normal to, and intersecting with the axis of said vertical pivot pin.

Preferably said U-shaped strap is attachable to a side of said post is selectable so that; a) the center of curvature of the U of said strap is coincident with the axis of said vertical pivot pin, or b) the center of curvature of the U of said strap is displaced along the long axJs of said U-shaped strap in the direction towards said fence opening, or COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 2003 22:19 Wallinston Dummer No 6489 P 7 4 c) The center of curvature of the U of said strap is displaced along the long axis of said U-shaped strap in the direction away from said fence opening.

Preferably said lower and upper hinge elements are adapted to rotatably support a gate panel constructed of a tubular frame.

Preferably said vertical pivot pin of said lower hinge element is adapted to mate with an open end of a tubular upright member of said tubular frame; the axis of said upright member forming the hinge axis of said gate.

Preferably said tubular upright member of said tubular frame passes through said U-shaped strap.

Preferably said axis of said upright tubular member is defined by said vertical pivot pin and the center of curvature of the U of said U-shaped strap.

Preferably said hinge arrangement is relieved by the provision of a support wheel at the base of the end of the gate opposite to the hinge end of said gate.

Accordingly, in a further broad form of the invention there is provided a method for the aligning of the base of a gate with the slope of the ground surface along the line of a fence through a fence opening, said method comprising the steps of; COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 10-00. 2003 22:20 Wallington Dummer No 6489 P 8 a) attaching a lower hinge element to the side of an end post defining one end of a fence opening, b) selecting the position of an upper hinge element relative to said lower hinge element so as to determine a hinge axis where said axis is normal to the slope of said ground surface and contained in a vertical plane parallel to said fence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the acqomTnpanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 shows a conventionally hinged gate on sloping terrain as an example of prior art.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a hinge arrangement attached to a post for a hinged farm gate according to the invention.

Figure 3 is a detail view of a section of a gate installed to the hinge arrangement of figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail view of the gate of figure 3 in an adjusted position for ground sloping downwardly from the post in the direction of the fence opening.

Figure 5 is a detail view of the gate of figure 3 in an adjusted position for ground sloping upwardly from the post in the direction of the fence opening.

COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 2003 22:20 Wall ington DUmmer No.6439 P. 9 6 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PPRflRPED EMBOD IMNTS Accordingly, a first pref erred embodiment of a binge arrangement 10 for a farm gate will now be described with reference to figure 3. Hinged farm gate 11 may preferably be constructed as a panel 12 of steel tube f raming 13 with intermediate bracing and wire stringers or welded mesh etc.

The gate is supported from one of the end posts 14 defining a gate opening 15 in a fence line 16. Referring to figure 2, gate panel 13 is adapted to engage with a pivot pin 17 and be supported by support bracket 18; pin and bracket forming the lower hinge 19. The tubul-ar frame 13 of the gate panel 12 has an internal diameter significanitly larger than that of the pivot pin 17 so that the upright member 26 of gate frame 13 is not constrained to remain strictly coaxial with the pivot pin axis The pivot pin 17 and support bracket 18 forming the lower hinge 19 are thus conventional in design, comprising a bracket with a vertical pivot pin, adapted to attach to a timber post by screws or to a metal post by welding or bolting. In contradistinction to the conventional arrangement, where such a bracket and pivot are attached to the supporting post so that the pin and hinge axis lie in the plane of the fence line, the support bracket of the present invention is attached to a side of the post.

COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by P1 Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 lO-Oct. 2003 22:20 WallIington Dummer No.6489 P. 7 The upper hinge 21 of the present invention as shown in figure 2, is in the form of a U-shaped strap 22, closed at the bottom 23 of the U. U-shaped strap 22 is attached by a side 23 to the end post 14 on the same side of the post as the lower hinge and oriented with the curve of the U towards the fence Opening and so that the long axis 25 of the U lies in a horizontal plane, parallel to the line of the fence 15 and intersecting with the vertical axis 19 of the lower hinge pivot pin 16.

U-shaped strap 22 passes around upright tubular member 26 so that gate panel 12 is then supported at its hinge end by lower hinge 19 and captured at its upper end by Ushaped strap 22 of upper hinge 21.

The actual point of attachment of the side 24 of the U-shaped strap 22 to the fence post 14 is selected dependent on the direction and degree of slope of the ground along the line of the fence 16 through the gate opening 15. Thus in the case where the ground slopes downwardly from the end post 14, the curve of the U-shaped strap 22 is displaced forward of the lower hinge pivot axis that is, towards the fence opening 15, as shown in figure 4. Where the ground slopes upwardly from the end post the curve of the U-shaped strap is displaced back from COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2U03-10-1O 2003 22:20 Wal lin ton Dummer No.6489 P. 11 8 the lower hinge pivot axis 20, that is, away from the fence opening, as shown in figure It will now be clear from figures 4 and 5 that the gate may assume an inclination relative to the end post from which it is hinged, adapting it to the slope of the ground while maintaining the gate panel in a vertical plane parallel to the plane of the fence line when the gate is closed.

For level ground, the upper hinge 21 may be attached to post 14 so that the center of curvature of the U is coincident with the vertical pivot axis 20 as may be seen in figure 3. In this installation the gate panel 12 hinge end 25 is vertical and the gate hinges around a vertical axis.

In, a second preferred embodiment of the invention the operation of the hinge arrangement so far described, is augmented in the case of long gates by the addition of a support wheel at base of the upright of the gate frame at the opposite end of the gate to the hinged end. In this embodiment the axis of the support wheel is normal to the plane of the gate panel and serves to support the weight of the gate as it pivots between it closed and open postions.

The support wheel serves to facilitate the gate movement and relieves the stress on the vertical pivot pin COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 2003 22:20 Wallinston Dummer No.6489 P. 12 9 of the lower hinge element and the stress and wear of the upper hinge element U-shaped strap and the tubular upright of the gate frame.

The above describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10

Claims (12)

1. A hinge arrangement, said hinge arrangement adapted for the support of a gate in a fence opening so as to orient the hinge axis of said gate normal to the line of slope of the ground through said opening.

2. The hinge arrangement of claim 1 wherein said arrangement comprises of a lower hinge element and an upper hinge element, said lower and upper elements adapted for attachment to one side of a fence post.

3. The hinge arrangement of claim 2 wherein said lower hinge element is comprised of a bracket adapted for attachment to a fence post and a vertical pivot pin.

4. The hinge arrangement of claim 2 wherein said upper bracket is in the form of a U-shaped strap and where one side of said U-shaped strap is adapted for attachment to a fence post So that the long axis of the U of said strap is substantially parallel to the line of the fence and normal to, and intersecting with the axis of said vertical pivot pin.

5. The hinge arrangement of claim 4 wherein the point of attachment of said U-shaped strap to a side of said post is selectable so that; COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 2003 22:21 Wallinston Dummer No.6489 P. 14 11 the center of curvature of the U of said strap is coincident with the axis of said vertical pivot pin, or the center of curvature of the U of said strap is displaced along the long axis of said U-shaped strap in the direction towards said fence opening, or The center of curvature of the U of said strap is displaced along the long axis of said U-shaped strap in the direction away from said fence opening.

6. The hinge arrangement of any of claims 1 to 5 wherein said lower and upper hinge elements are adapted to rotatably support a gate panel constructed of a tubular frame.

7. The hinge arrangement of claim 6 wherein said vertical pivot pin of said lower hinge element is adapted to mate with an open end of a tubular upright member of said tubular frame; the axis of said upright member forming the hinge axis of said gate.

8. The hinge arrangement of claim 7 wherein said tubular upright member of said tubular frame passes through said U-shaped strap. COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 2003 22:21 Wallinston Dummer No.6489 P. 12

9. The hinge arrangement of claim 8 wherein said axis of said upright tubular member is defined by said vertical pivot pin and the center of curvature of the U of said U-shaped strap.

10. The hinge arrangement of any of claims 1 to 9 wherein the stress and wear induced by the weight of long gates on said hinge arrangement is relieved by the provision of a support wheel at the base of the end of the gate opposite to the hinge end of said gate.

11. A method for the aligning of the base of a gate with the slope of the ground surface along the line of a fence through a fence opening, said method comprising the steps of; attaching a lower hinge element to the side of an end post defining one end of a fence opening, selecting the position of an upper hinge element relative to said lower hinge element so as to determine a hinge axis where said axis is normal to the slope of said ground surface and contained in a vertical plane parallel to said fence.

12. A method for an adaptive hinge arrangement for a gate as substantially herein described with reference to and as shown in figures 1 to COMS ID No: SMBI-00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time 22:23 Date 2003-10-10 2003 22:21 Wall in&ton Dummer NK -6 4 89 16 WONDITTL fTY LTD By their Patent Attorneys UALLIBQTON-DUaaR Dated: 10 October 2003 COMS ID Na:SMBI.00449173 Received by IP Australia: Time (1-tm) 22:23 Date 2003-10-10