AU2009202564A1 - Spiked barrier strip - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Standard Patent Applicants: Securi-Cap Pty Ltd Invention Title: SPIKED BARRIER STRIP The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method for performing it known to us: P78175.AU 1 Pat_Sei_Fing App.cation 2009-4-25.doc (M) -2 SPIKED BARRIER STRIP Field of the Invention 5 This invention relates to spiked barriers for mounting on a building or other structures to deter human intruders and also to prevent animals from walking on or climbing over the structure. 10 Background of the Invention Glass balcony panels are common nowadays on high rise apartments and condominiums. Decks and balconies incorporating clear safety glass are also increasingly 15 popular because they provide uninterrupted views of surrounding areas. Furthermore, glass panel pool fences are rapidly becoming the pool fence of choice due to their attractive and unobtrusive look. 20 Due to the relatively low height of these balcony partitions, break-ins are relatively common. Intruders access apartments by climbing from one balcony to another. In about half of all apartment break-ins, the burglar enters the apartment via an unlocked balcony door. 25 Balcony doors are often left unlocked or open especially in warm weather. Existing balcony panels are often not an effective deterrent to climbing prowlers. Summary of the Invention 30 The present invention provides a spiked barrier in the form of an elongate strip which is particularly suited for mounting along an edge of a structure, for example, an upper edge of a glass balcony panel, balcony partition or 35 glass pool fence. N :e[Doume\Cases\Patent\78000-78999\P78175.AU 1 \Specis\Specrficaion1.doc 25/06/09 -3 The present invention enables the production of spiked barrier strips which can be readily fitted to the upper edges of glass balcony panels and balcony partitions or other upwardly projecting edges of various structures. 5 According to the invention there is provided a spiked barrier strip for mounting along an upwardly projecting edge of a structure, comprising: 10 (a) an elongate strip body for mounting on the upwardly projecting edge of the structure to overlie that edge; and (b) a longitudinally extending row of spikes formed with the strip body to project upwardly from the strip body is when the strip body is mounted on the structure edge; and wherein the elongate strip body has a longitudinally extending channel shaped recess opening in a direction away from the spikes. 20 This construction is particularly suited to mounting the strip body along the upper edge of a balcony panel or other upright panel by fitting the channel shaped recess over the upper edge of the panel. It may be firmly fixed 2S in position by a suitable adhesive. There may be a single row or multiple straight-line rows of spikes projecting from spike bases each extending across a major part of the width of the strip body. The 30 strip body may have a width in the range 8mm to 40mm. The spikes may extend upwardly from spike bases having a width in directions across the strip in the range 8mm to 40mm. The spikes may be of generally conical formation 35 with circular bases having a diameter in the range 5mm to 15mm and a height in the range 10mm to 20mm. N:\Melboume\Case\Patent\78000-78999\P78175 AU. 1\ Speas\Specificationt doc 25/06/09 -4 The channel shaped recess may have a width in the range 5mm to 30mm. The channel shaped recess may be a U-shaped channel. The U-shaped channel may have a pair of arms extending from the elongate strip body in a substantially s parallel arrangement so that the arms extend over the upwardly projecting edge for fastening to the structure. The arms may be formed to grip the structure to stabilise the spiked barrier strip on the structure in the absence 10 of a fastener. In one construction, the spiked barrier strip is formed as a unitary structure. In this regard, the spiked barrier strip may be formed in discrete lengths and cut to size as 15 required. In an alternative construction the strip body may be formed along its side remote from the spikes with a formation adapted to inter-fit with a recess in a strip 20 body holder. That formation may be shaped as an elongate key to fit a keyway recess. The invention also extends to a spiked barrier strip for mounting along an upwardly projecting edge of a structure, 25 comprising: (a) an elongate strip body for mounting on the upwardly projecting edge of the structure to overlie that edge; 30 (b) a longitudinally extending row of spikes formed integrally with the strip body to project away from the strip body when the strip is mounted on the structure edge; and 35 (c) an elongate mounting member for mounting the strip body to the upwardly projecting edge of the structure, and wherein the mounting member is formed with an elongate N:AMelboume\Cases\Patent\780O0-78999\P78175.AU.1\Specis\Spealicationi.doc 25/06/09 -5 recess and the strip body is formed along its side remote from the spikes with a longitudinally extending formation to fit within the recess of the mounting member to attach the strip body to the mounting member. 5 The inter-fitting formation of the strip body and the recess of the mounting member may be shaped to allow them to be fitted together by relative longitudinal sliding or a pressing movement and to provide a keying action 10 preventing lateral separation of the strip body from the mounting member. The recess of the mounting member may be a slot or keyway and the inter-fitting formation of the strip body may have 15 surfaces to conform with the side faces of the slot. The mounting member may be provided with a longitudinally extending mounting recess opening oppositely to the first said recess to fit onto an upwardly projecting structure 20 edge. This arrangement enables convenient production of strips which can be fitted to the upper edges of panels of varying thickness. Specifically, it is possible to form a universal or single size strip body, for example by moulding, and to use this in combination with any of a 25 range of mounting members formed in varying widths to allow for different panel sizes. The mounting members can be of constant cross-section and therefore can be readily produced in varying sizes by extrusion. 30 The invnetion also provides A spiked barrier strip for mounting along an upwardly projecting edge of a structure, the spiked barrier strip comprising: (a) an elongate strip body for mounting on the upwardly 35 projecting edge of the structure to overlie that edge; N :Melboume\Cases\Patent\78000-78999tP78175.AU. 1\Spects\Specificationi doc 25/06/09 -6 (b) a longitudinally extending row of spikes formed integrally with the strip body to project away from the strip body when the strip is mounted on the structure edge; and 5 wherein the elongate strip body is provided along its underside remote from the spikes with a longitudinally extending shallow recess suitable for engagement with and adhesion to an upstanding edge rim of a structure. 10 Brief description of the drawings: In order that the invention may be more fully explained, two particular embodiments will be described in some 15 detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a barrier strip constructed in accordance with the invention; 20 Figure 2 is a top view of the strip shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the strip; 25 Figure 4 is a cross-section of the strip to an enlarged scale; Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative form of strip constructed in accordance with the invention 30 and used in conjunction with a strip body holder which serves as a mounting member; Figure 6 is a top view of the spiked strip body of the strip shown in Figure 5; 35 Figure 7 is a side view of the spiked strip body in Figure 5; N:\Melboume\CasesPatent\78000-78999\P781 75.AU.1\~Specis\Specification1 .doc 25/06/09 -7 Figure 8 is a top view of the strip body holder in Figure 5; 5 Figure 9 is a side view of the strip body holder; and Figure 10 is a cross-section through the strip of Figure 5 to an enlarged scale; and 10 Figure 11 shows the strip of Figure 5 mounted along the outer rim of a length of roof guttering. Detailed description of embodiments 15 Figures 1 to 4 illustrate a spiked barrier strip denoted generally as 11 which comprises an elongate strip body, in the form of mounting structure 12, and a row of spikes 13. The spikes 13 are formed integrally with the mounting structure 12. Mounting structure 12 has a channel shaped 20 formation comprising side arms, in the form of flanges 14, and connecting web 15 forming a channel recess 16 extending along the mounting structure 12. The channel shape of the mounting structure 12 enables it to be mounted on an upwardly facing edge of a structure, for 25 example, the upper edge of a barrier panel, by fitting the channel recess 16 over the edge of the panel. To facilitate mounting of the spiked barrier strip 11 to a structure, the flanges 14 and the connecting web 15 are 30 integrally formed in a U-shape. The flanges 14 are generally parallel and extend in the same direction from the connecting web 15 away from the spikes 13. This enables the mounting structure 12 to stabilise the spiked barrier on the structure before a fastener is applied. 35 For example, the spiked barrier 11 may be placed on a structure without a fastener to test whether the location and/or length of the spike barrier strip 11 are N:\Melboume\Cases\Patent\78000-78999\P78175 AU-1\Specis\Specification1.doc 25/06/09 -8 appropriate. If so, a fastener such as an adhesive or screws or nails may be used to secure the spiked barrier strip 11 to a structure depending on the material of the structure. 5 The flanges 14 may be formed to extend outwardly from the connecting web 15 and slightly toward each other to form a taper. The taper improves grip of the spiked barrier strip 11 to a structure that has a width that is less than 10 the width of the connecting web 15 and slightly greater than the smallest gap between the flanges 14. The row of spikes 13 are arranged in a straight line array so as to project outwardly from the connecting web 15 of 15 the mounting structure 12 and therefore to project upwardly when the channel recess 16 of the mounting structure 12 is fitted over an upwardly facing edge of a panel or other structure. 20 The strip may be moulded from polycarbonate material and its U-channel design allows it to fit on a glass panel of the standard widths. The inside width of the U-channel is from 3-25 mm, more preferably from 5-15 mm and most preferably 8-12 mm. 25 The plastic spikes 13 create a safe yet unobtrusive barrier to climbing. The spikes are both decorative and functional. Due to their design and the polymer used, the spiked barrier strips 11 blend well with the 30 balcony/glazing and offer a hard and uncomfortable prickly feel. They are effective at deterring unwanted visitors from pulling their weight up on the glass or structural panel. 35 The spiked barrier strip 11 is suitable for balcony glazing because the strip 11 increases safety and because N:\Melboume\Cases\Patent\780O0-78999\P78175 AU. 1 \Specis\Specification1 doc 25/06/09 -9 the painful sensation that the spikes create prevents access to the balcony and thus discourages break-ins. The clear plastic spiked barrier strips 11 can also be 5 used on glass pool fences. In many cases pool fences have failed as a barrier because a gate was left open or a child was able to climb the fence while unsupervised (NSW Department of Health, Australia 2004). Objects are sometimes left near fences that could assist climbing such 10 as BBQs, rock and chairs. The clear spiked strip is designed to inhibit people and particularly young children from climbing over glass pool fences. Figures 5 to 10 illustrate an alternative embodiment that 15 comprises a spiked strip generally denoted as 21 that designed for use with a mounting member in the form of a strip holder 22 through which it can be mounted on a building edge. Strip 21 comprises a strip body in the form of a mounting structure 23 and a row of conically 20 shaped spikes 24 moulded integrally with the mounting structure 23. The strip holder 22 has a channel shaped lower part it side flanges 26 and connecting web 27 whereby it can be 25 fitted over the upper edge of a building panel and its upper part is formed with an elongate recess in the form of a generally keyway-shaped longitudinally extending keyway recess 28. The lower part of mounting structure 23 has a formation in the form of a keyed formation 29 to 30 conform with the side faces of the keyway recess 28. The keyed formation 29 provides an inter-fitting formation that is co-operable with the keyway recess 28 of the strip holder 22 to allow the mounting structure 23 and the strip holder 22 to be fitted together by relative longitudinal 35 sliding movement and/or simply pressing together the components to provide a keying action preventing lateral separation of the two. N:Melboume\Cases\Patent\7800-76999\P78175 AU.1\Specis\Specification1 doc 25/06f09 - 10 The strip holder 22 can be profile extruded to varying widths. This allows the same sized spiked strip 21 to be used on glass panels of differing thickness simply by s changing the size of the profile extruded form. The inside width of the U-channel of the profile extruded form is from 3-25 mm, more preferably from 5-15 mm and most preferably 8-12 mm. 10 In another embodiment of the invention the spiked strip has a concave base recess 31 also allowing it to be adhered to an outer rim or edge 32 of roof guttering 33 in the manner shown in Figure 11. 15 Guttering is often damaged or vandalized by youths pulling their weight up on the guttering in order to gain access to the roofs of structures such as schools buildings and halls. In some cases the guttering is deliberately bent and deformed in order to cause malicious damage. In such 20 areas, spiked strips can be adhered to the rolled edge of the guttering in order to deter such behaviour and to avoid expensive repair bills. The type of guttering on an existing building will 25 generally reflect the period in which it was built - cast iron, rolled steel, cement or plastic. Plastic is generally the material now used on new buildings, although seamless aluminium guttering is becoming quite widely used. In this embodiment, the clear spike strips 21 are 30 moulded with a concave base depression or recess 31 on the underside in order to accommodate the rolled edge of the guttering. The strips can be easily fitted to rolled steel or 35 aluminium guttering with a neutral cure silicone adhesive. N:\Melboume\Cases\Patent\7800O-78999\P78175 AU. 1\Specis\Specafcaton1.doc 25/06109 - 11 Plastic guttering is available in half-round, ogee, square section and a number of other profiles sometimes unique to a particular manufacturer. The spiked strips 21 have been designed to fit on the outer edge of most types of plastic 5 guttering. The spiked strips are moulded from polycarbonate but could also be moulded in acrylic or in PET. Although, the illustrated spike strips in Figures 1 to 7, 10 and 11 have 10 conical spikes 13, 24, it would be possible to have spikes of pyramidal or other generally pointed formation. The specific shape of the mounting structure 12, 23 could also be varied. 15 It is to be understood that the illustrated embodiments have been advanced by way of example only and many modifications and variations could be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinbefore described. 20 N:\MeIboume\Cases\Patent\78000-78999\P78175 AU 1\Specis\Speafication1.doc 25106/09

Claims (19)

1. A spiked barrier strip for mounting along an upwardly projecting edge of a structure, the spiked barrier 5 strip comprising: (a) an elongate strip body for mounting on the upwardly projecting edge of the structure to overlie that edge; 10 (b) a longitudinally extending row of spikes formed with the strip body to project upwardly from the strip body when the strip body is mounted on the structure edge; and 15 wherein the elongate strip body has a longitudinally extending channel shaped recess opening in a direction away from the spikes. 20

2. The spiked barrier strip as defined in claim 1, wherein the elongate strip body includes a single row or multiple straight-line rows of spikes projecting from spike bases extending across a major part of the width of the strip body. 25

3. The spiked barrier strip as defined in claim 2, wherein the spikes extend upwardly from spike bases having a width in directions across the strip in the range of 8mm to 40mm. 30

4. The spiked barrier strip as defined in claim 3, wherein the spikes have a generally conical formation with circular bases having a diameter in the range of 5mm to 15mm. 35

5. The spiked barrier strip as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the spikes have a height in N:\Melboume\Cases\Patent\78000-78999\P78175 AU-1\Specis\Specification1 doc 25/06/09 - 13 the range of 10mm to 20mm.

6. The spiked barrier strip as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the strip body has a width s in the range of 8mm to 40mm.

7. The spiked barrier strip as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the channel shaped recess has a width in the range of 5mm to 30mm. 10

8. The spiked barrier strip as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the channel shaped recess is a U-shaped channel. 15

9. The spiked barrier strip as defined in claim 8, wherein the U-shaped channel has a pair of arms extending from the elongate strip body in a substantially parallel arrangement so that, in use, the arms extend over the upwardly projecting edge of 20 the structure for fastening to the structure.

10. The spiked barrier strip as defined in claim 9, wherein the arms are formed to grip the structure to stabilise the spiked barrier strip on the structure 25 in the absence of a fastener.

11. The spiked barrier strip as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the spiked barrier strip is formed as a unitary structure. 30

12. The spiked barrier strip as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the strip body is formed along its side remote from the spikes with a formation adapted to inter-fit with a recess in a 35 separate strip body holder that includes the channel shaped recess. N:\Meboume\Cases\Paten1\780O0-78999\P78175 AU-1\Specis\Specificationl1.doc 25/06/09 - 14

13. The spiked barrier strip as defined in claim 12, wherein the formation is shaped as an elongate key to fit the recess in the strip body holder. 5

14. A spiked barrier strip for mounting along an upwardly projecting edge of a structure, the spiked barrier strip comprising: (a) an elongate strip body for mounting on the 10 upwardly projecting edge of the structure to overlie that edge; (b) a longitudinally extending row of spikes formed integrally with the strip body to project away 15 from the strip body when the strip is mounted on the structure edge; and (c) an elongate mounting member for mounting the strip body to a structure edge; and 20 wherein the mounting member is formed with an elongate recess and the strip body is formed along its side remote from the spikes with a longitudinally extending formation to inter-fit within the elongate 25 recess of the mounting member to attach the strip body to the mounting member.

15. The spiked barrier strip as defined in claim 14, wherein the inter-fitting formation of the strip body 30 and the recess of the mounting member are shaped to allow them to be fitted together by relative longitudinal sliding or by a pressing movement to provide a keying action preventing lateral separation of the strip body from the mounting member. 35

16. The spiked barrier strip as defined in claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the elongate recess of the mounting N:\Melboume\Cases\Patent\78000-78999P78175.AU 1 iSpeasSpecification1 doe 25/06/09 - 15 member is a slot or keyway.

17. The spiked barrier strip as defined in claim 15, wherein the inter-fitting formation of the strip body 5 has surfaces to conform with the side faces of the slot.

18. The spiked barrier strip as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mounting member is 10 provided with a longitudinally extending mounting recess opening oppositely to the elongate recess to fit onto an edge of an upwardly projecting structure.

19. A spiked barrier strip for mounting along an upwardly 15 projecting edge of a structure, the spiked barrier strip comprising: (a) an elongate strip body for mounting on the upwardly projecting edge of the structure to 20 overlie that edge; (b) a longitudinally extending row of spikes formed integrally with the strip body to project away from the strip body when the strip is mounted on 25 the structure edge; and wherein the elongate strip body is provided along its underside remote from the spikes with a longitudinally extending shallow recess suitable for 30 engagement with and adhesion to an upstanding edge rim of a structure. N: elboume\Cases\Patent\78000-78999\P78175.AU.1\Specis\Specification1.doc 25/06/09