AU2008100275A4 - Bracket for Mounting Pest barrier - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT BRACKET FOR MOUNTING PEST BARRIER The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: Spec-MarO8 Bracket.doc 00 Bracket for Mounting Pest Barrier FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to a bracket for mounting a pest barrier, in particular a possum or cat barrier.

BACKGROUND ART tt ,Ic The following references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the following prior art discussion does not 00 Srelate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in (N 10 the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part.

Possums, and other small animals such as cats and squirrels, can be associated with damage to property, nesting in inappropriate locations such as in attics, and leaving of unpleasant smells and deposits, such as faeces and urine. Numerous strategies and devices have been employed in the past to deter such animals from invading spaces and causing irritation or damage. For example, broad sheet material, such as Perspex or aluminium, may be wrapped around a trunk or bow of a tree to prevent an animal, such as a possum, from climbing the tree or bow. Bird spikes have been employed to deter birds, such as pigeons, from landing on fences or sides of buildings (such as guttering), but such bird spikes have proved ineffective in deterring heavy-bodied terrestrial animals such as possums. Bird spikes are generally structurally flimsy and are easily deflected by a possum. More over, bird spikes generally comprise a solid sheet base material, such as a stainless steel sheet metal strip or Perspex® onto which light gauge wire lengths are attached intermittent their length and up turned so as to present a deterrent to approaching animals. However, the welding of such materials does not provide a strong connection, the base is an expensive component of such devises and the solid nature of the base strip makes the mounting of such prior art bird spikes problematic.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to ameliorate the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative thereto.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided An animal deterrent device including a spine for mounting to a substrate and one or Spec-Mar08 Bracket.doc 00 more rows of wire spikes, wherein said spine comprises two or more spaced and 0 0substantially parallel lengths made of substantially rigid but ductile material and each spike wire is welded to both spine lengths.

SIn another aspect, there is provided a bracket for mounting to an animal deterrent device, said device including a spine for mounting to a substrate and one or more rows of wire spikes, said spine comprising two or more spaced and substantially parallel Slengths of wire made of substantially rigid and ductile material and each spike wire being welded to both spine lengths of wire, wherein said bracket is made from a sheet of 0substantially rigid but ductile material and comprises a fastener receiving portion for attachment to a substrate and a deformable finger section comprising two or more 00 fingers, each said finger adapted to fit between adjacent wire spikes and to wrap around Ssaid spine.

The device may be in the form of a possum barrier. However, the skilled person will appreciate that the device may be used to deter other animals, such as birds, squirrels, cats and the like.

The spike wires may vary in gauge between 1mm and 3mm, but is preferably in the range of 1.6-2.2mm, and still more preferably 1.6-2.0mm. The spine lengths of wire should be sufficiently resiliently deformable to ensure that they can follow the broad curved contours of a substrate, such as a convex wall or large tree trunk, but sufficiently rigid to generally hold its form once mounted to the substrate and provide rigid support for the wire spikes. The spine lengths of wire may be provided in lengths of between 500mm and 800mm, and preferably the spike wires are about 100mm in length. That is, the assembled device, corresponding to the spine lengths of wire is preferably about 600mm long. The substantially parallel spine lengths of wire are preferably spaced by a distance of I Omm-30mm, but preferably 15mm, whereby to provide a broad base for stability, but spaced to ensure sufficient rigidity of the spine.

The spike wires are most preferably 1.6mm gauge. The spike wires are sufficiently ductile to be repeatedly bendable and sufficiently rigid to hold their form once deformed, whereby to resist a breach by a target animal, such as a possum. Adjacent wire spikes along the length of the spine are spaced between 2mm and 20mm apart, and preferably 15mm apart. The spike wires may be welded above or below the spine, but preferably above for ease of manufacture and to enable the spine to present an even and continuous surface atop a substrate.

The weld of the spike wire to the spine may be achieved by the use of a jig, whereby the spine lengths of wire are set in place followed by laying the straight spike wires along the spine again using ajig. The weld may then be completed in one contact for the Spec-MarO8 Bracket.doc 00 entire unit. The skilled person will appreciate that the spine and spike materials may

C

Cinclude any suitable weldable or fusible material, such as metal alloys including as stainless steel, galvanised iron and rigid yet resilient polymer materials.

SPreferably the device includes two rows of spikes. The two rows of spikes may comprise pairs of spikes formed by welding a spike wire intermediate its length so that a section thereof forms a bridge across the spine lengths of wire and the free ends of each r spike wire extend outwardly from the spine.

The brackets may comprise one or more fingers and preferably two or three fingers. It may be made from sheet material, such as sheet metal. The sheet metal may be cut by 00 10 any suitable means, such as laser or by stamping. The fastener receiving portion may include an aperture for receiving a fastener, such as a screw or bolt shaft. The fastener may be suitable for mounting the device to an edge of a building structure, such as a pergola or guttering.

The bracket may further include a washer attached to the main body of the bracket by a frangible connection. The washer may be used where the substrate includes a flat upper surface whereby the device is mounted by inserting the washer between adjacent spike wires, so that the washer extends over a portion of each of the spine lengths of wire to secure to the substrate. The washer preferably includes an aperture large enough to receive the shaft of a fastener and small enough to abut against the fastener head or cross piece.

The Possum Barrier excludes access by possums on structures and trees by creating a physical barrier both longitudinally and perpendicular to the possum barrier, thus protecting garden plants from being grazed. The possum barrier can be used as an individual unit on a fence top or as a bank of units around a horizontal tree branch or other wide flat surface. Other benefits of excluding possum access to structures include, no possum faeces on paths below pergolas, fences etcetera and no possum urine stains down brick walls.

The 15mm spacing of the PPB spikes (most bird spikes are spaced 30mm or greater), denies possum access to climbing plants such as roses attached to the fascia of a house below the roof gutter. This is achieved by attaching the bracket or verti-clip to the possum barrier and pop riveting the bracket or verti-clip to the roof gutter edge. The spacing of the spikes denies perpendicular access through the possum barrier to the roses.

Given the strength of the welds obtained by having the all wire construction, the spikes can be manipulated to increase its effectiveness and adapt to particular applications.

Spec-MarOB Bracket.doc 00 For example, every second spike can be spread to increase the surface area covered on 0 top of a brick wall.

(-i tThe all wire construction is superior to similar bird spike products in that the connection Sbetween the base and the spikes is very strong and thus will not break when a large 5 brush tail possum attempts to push through.

(-i The wire base also enables the possum barrier to be easily fastened to a structure along its entire length without drilling new holes.

SThe wire base can easily be cut to shorter lengths if required.

00 00The wire base is very flexible, allowing it to be bent around tree trunks or similar lo shapes.

The wire base allows the bracket or verti-clip to be placed anywhere along the possum barrier length to give greater flexibility of fixing points.

Given the tight configuration of the spikes, in contrast to bird spikes, possums cannot penetrate the possum barrier from the ends or the sides. This is particularly useful when fastening it to roof guttering to prevent access to climbing plants on verandas.

The bracket/verti-clip will slip between palings on a conventional paling fence or can be screwed into place on the side of a roof gutter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is an end view of a animal deterrent device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of a section of the device shown in figure 1; Figure 3a is a plan elevation of a bracket having three fingers according to another aspect of the invention; Figure 3b is a plan elevation of a bracket having two fingers according to another aspect of the invention; and Figure 4 is an end view of the device shown in figure 1 preparatory to mounting Spec-Mar08 Bracket.doc 00 on a substrate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS SAn animal deterrent device 10 is shown in figure 1. The device 10 includes a pair of spaced parallel rails, rods or wires 11 about 2mm thick and about 600mm in length and made from 304 stainless steel wire. The spine lengths of wire 11 are spaced centre to centre. The device 10 further includes two rows of wire spikes 12. Each row of spikes 12 includes a plurality of spike wires 1.6mm by 260mm long that are welded to the spine lengths of wire 11 at 15mm intervals. The spine lengths of wire 11 are Sformed in pairs, each pair forming a single length of spine wire 11 to which parallel 00 10 straight short lengths of spike wires 12 are welded. The spike wires 12 are welded to the spine lengths of wire 11 whereby each pair of spine lengths of wire 11 are aligned substantially parallel to one another. The spike wires 12 are also aligned arallel and serially adjacent one another and joined to the spine 11 intermediate their lengths. The free ends of the spike wires 12 may then be permanently deformed by bending, say at room temperature, to collectively form a channel shape when viewed from an end of the device 10. The spike wires 12 may be bent at a variety of angles at bend point 13. The result is pairs of 120mm long spikes 12 (made up of a single spike wire 12 length) extending from a 20mm base or bridge, that is the central section of each spike wire 12, across the spine wires 11.

Referring to figure 3, there is shown a bracket 20. For fastening to planar or broadly curved vertical surfaces, the device 10 may be supplied with one or more brackets made from 304 stainless steel sheet 0.7mm thick. Bracket 20 includes a fastening section 21 and two or three fingers 22 extending from the fastening portion 21. The fastening portion includes a 4.5mm aperture. The fingers 22 are continuous with the sheet forming the fastening portion 21 and have weakening notches 23 to enable the fingers to be bent at corresponding points to wrap around the spine lengths of wire 11 as shown in figure 4.

Owing to the open wire construction, the device 10 can be fixed at any point along the device 10 length. That is, the bracket 20 may be used to mount the device 10 at any point along its length. This is in contrast to prior art devices whereby a specific aperture would need to be drilled into the sheet base to enable mounting at a particular point.

Frangibly attached to the fastening portion 21 is a spare washer 30. The washer enables the bracket 20 and washer 30 to be sold together and joined by a frangible connection 3 1. Fastening to vertical surfaces, such as paling fence tops or roof guttering is achieved by using the washer 30. The washer 30 is manufactured together with the bracket 20 and serves as an alternative mounting means for the device 10. The Spec-MarO8 Bracketdoc 00 bracket 20 and washer 30 are supplied in a flat form as described above.

In use, the bracket 20 may be bent around the device 10 in any position along the device length. This strong union between the device 10 and the bracket 20 allows the Sdevice 10 to be fastened to any vertical surface by threading a screw threw the washer 30. Alternatively, a pop rivet or other fastening device, such as a bolt and nut arrangement can be used.

As shown in figure 4, the bracket 20 is mounted to a substrate 40 by inserting a screw 24 threw an aperture 25 in the bracket 20 and into the substrate 40. The fingers 22 are wrapped around the spike wires II by bending the fingers at bend points 23 to achieve a 00 10 firm and secure attachment of the device 10 to the substrate i With further regard to preferred materials, the spines 11 and spikes 12 may be made from materials including: powder coated mild steel, galvanised mild steel, spring steel, stainless steel, hardened plastic such as nylon or polycarbonate, and Aluminium. The bracket 20 may be made of powder coated mild steel, galvanised mild steel, spring steel or Aluminium.

Through-out the specification and claims the word "comprise" and its derivatives is intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the context requires otherwise.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Orientational terms used in the specification and claims such as vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, upper and lower are to be interpreted as relational and are based on the premise that the component, item, article, apparatus, device or instrument will usually be considered in a particular orientation, typically with the free ends of the spike wires uppermost.

Claims (4)

1. A bracket for mounting to an animal deterrent device, the device including a Sspine for mounting to a substrate and one or more rows of wire spikes, said spine comprising two or more spaced and parallel wires made of substantially rigid and r, 5 ductile material and each spike wire then welded to both spine lengths of wire, wherein said bracket is made form a sheet of substantially rigid but ductile t material and comprises a fastener receiving portion for attachment to a substrate (i and a deformable finger section comprising one or more fingers, the or each said finger adapted to fit between adjacent wire spikes and to wrap around said spine. 00

2. The bracket according to claim 1, wherein the bracket comprises two or three 0 fingers, is made from sheet material and the fastener receiving portion includes an aperture for receiving a fastener.

3. The bracket according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bracket further includes a washer attached by a frangible connection to the bracket for use where the substrate includes a vertical surface whereby the device is mounted by inserting the washer between adjacent spike wires and covers a section of the spine lengths of wire and is secured to the substrate by a fastener inserted though the washer aperture.

4. A bracket according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the fingers include weakened points to enable the fingers to be bent around the spine lengths of wire. A bracket according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the bracket is attachable to the device at any point between adjacent spike wires along the length of the spine.