AU2020100171A4

AU2020100171A4 - A Connector Assembly for Components of a Wire Fence

Info

Publication number: AU2020100171A4
Application number: AU2020100171A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Peter Barrett
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-02-03
Filing date: 2020-02-03
Publication date: 2020-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 2028-02-03

Abstract

A connector assembly (10) connects an end (11) of an angle stay (12) to a strainer post (14) of a wire fence (75), so as to form an angle stay and strainer post structure (70) at an end of a wire fence line. The connector assembly includes a first planar panel (16) and a second planar panel (18) which are perpendicularly interconnected to form a four equidistantly winged arrangement of the connector assembly. A hooked first end portion (20) of the panel (16) and an elongated first end portion (28) of the panel (18) form a first end configuration which is passed through a hole in a side of the post to secure one end of the connector assembly to the post. Second end portions (22, 30) of the panels (16, 18) form a second end configuration which is passed through an opening in the end (11) of the angle stay to secure the other end of the connector assembly to the angle stay. r/s As6

Description

A CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY FOR COMPONENTS OF A WIRE FENCE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a connector assembly for connecting an end of an angle stay to a strainer post of a wire fence.

BACKGROUND ART

Typical wire fences, including electrified fencing systems, used in agriculture need to be stable along their entire length for optimal effectiveness and longevity.

Strainer posts of a conventional post and wire assembly which are anchored at the end of each fence line, such as at gateways, corners, crests of hills and bottoms of gullies, must be able to take the tension forces of the strained fence wires sufficiently to eliminate any fence movement, like the “flipping” or pulling out of a strainer post from the ground. To achieve this, the strainer posts are stayed (or braced, as it is sometimes referred to) for each fence line they are connected to so that the fence can resist large forces applied to it from animals, fallen trees and other impacting objects.

Strainer posts may be stayed either with the use of an angle stay and an above ground tensioned stay foot (or alternatively a ground-embedded stay plate), or with the use of a box stay assembly that utilizes a horizontal stay (also known as a compression brace) between two posts (an end post and a brace post) which take the strain and a diagonally looped brace wire that keeps the posts in place.

Angle stays are most suitable for firm soil and can accommodate high tension straining, and the connector assembly of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to its use with angle stays, although it should be understood that it may also be used to connect a horizontal stay to one or both of the posts in box stay assemblies.

03/02/20

There are many known ways to connect angle stays to strainer posts of a wire fence. For example, the connection between angle stay and strainer post components made of hollow metal tubing will be different to one in which the components are made of timber. The benefits of using hollow metal tubing, rather than timber, to construct wire fences are clear to skilled persons in this art, but despite this, there have been problems or at least some practical limitations in providing an inexpensive, easy to assemble, and secure connection of the angle stays to the strainer posts where they are both made of hollow metal tubing.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly for connecting an end of an angle stay to a strainer post of a wire fence in which the angle stay and strainer post components are made of hollow metal tubing and which provides an inexpensive, easy to assemble, and secure connection of the angle stays to the strainer posts.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a useful alternative to known methods and devices for connecting an end of an angle stay to a strainer post of a wire fence.

According to the present invention, there is provided a connector assembly for connecting an end of an angle stay to a strainer post of a wire fence, the connector assembly comprising:

(a) a first planar panel having a hooked first end portion and a second end portion opposite to, and wider than, the hooked first end portion, the second end portion having a first pair of frictionally engageable edges at opposite sides thereof, (b) a second planar panel having an elongated first end portion and a second end portion opposite to, and wider than, the elongated first end portion, the second end portion having a second pair of frictionally engageable edges at opposite sides thereof,

03/02/20 (c) the first and second planar panels being perpendicularly interconnected to form a four equidistantly winged arrangement of the connector assembly, in which:

(i) the hooked first end portion of the first planar panel and the elongated first end portion of the second planar panel form a first end of the connector assembly that is configured to pass through a hole in a side of the strainer post, with the hooked first end portion being hooked to an edge of the hole to secure the first end of the connector assembly to the strainer post, and (ii) the second end portions of the first and second planar panels form a second end of the connector assembly that is configured to pass through an opening in the end of the angle stay, with the first and second pairs of frictionally engageable edges being wedged against an inner rim portion adjacent the opening to secure the second end of the connector assembly to the angle stay.

Preferably, the first and second planar panels are made as separate pieces, the first planar panel having a first female slot extending from a first edge of the first planar panel, and the second planar panel having a second female slot extending from a second edge of the second planar panel, wherein the perpendicular interconnection of the first and second planar panels is formed by sliding the first and second female slots into each other.

The first female slot of the first planar panel preferably extends perpendicularly from a rearward facing first edge of the first planar panel and towards its hooked first end portion, and the second female slot of the second planar panel preferably extends perpendicularly from a forward facing second edge of the elongated first end portion of the second planar panel and towards its second end portion.

Alternatively, the first female slot of the first planar panel may extend perpendicularly from a forward facing first edge of the hooked first end portion of the first planar panel and towards its second end portion, and the second female slot of the second planar panel may extend perpendicularly from a rearward facing second edge of the second planar panel and towards its elongated first end portion.

03/02/20

In each of the above described arrangements of female slots, the perpendicular interconnection of the first and second planar panels is formed by sliding the first and second female slots into each other.

In a preferred form, the first planar panel has a forward facing upper edge located behind and above the hooked first end portion, and a forward facing lower edge located behind and below the hooked first end portion, wherein the forward facing upper edge is located further away from the rearward facing edge of the first planar panel than is the forward facing lower edge thereof.

It is preferred that the second end portion of each of the first and second planar panels has a pair of outward steps at opposite sides thereof, each outward step of a pair being located between the frictionally engageable edge and the forward facing edge so that they are pressed against respective edges of the opening in the end of the angle stay when the second end of the connector assembly is secured to the angle stay.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an angle stay and strainer post structure for an end of a wire fence line, the structure comprising an angle stay, a strainer post, and the connector assembly described above which connects an end of the angle stay to the strainer post.

There has been thus outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and put into practical effect, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.

There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which the disclosure is based, may be readily utilized as the basis for designing other structures, devices, process steps and system configurations for carrying out the object of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the broad outline of the invention

03/02/20 described above be regarded as including such equivalent features insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is an isometric view of a connector assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of a first planar panel of the connector assembly shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation view of a second planar panel of the connector assembly shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a side elevation view of a preferred angle stay and strainer post structure for an end of a wire fence line, in which the connector assembly of Figure 1 connects an end of an angle stay to a strainer post when the structure is in a preliminary position prior to the other end of the angle stay being mounted to a ground-supported stay foot.

Figure 5 is a side elevation view similar to that of Figure 4, but showing the preferred angle stay and strainer post structure in a final position in which the other end of the angle stay is mounted to the ground-supported stay foot which is under tension.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The connector assembly 10 of Figure 1 is hereinafter described for connecting an end 11 of an angle stay 12 to a strainer post 14 of a wire fence, so as to form an angle stay and strainer post structure 70 (which may also be referred to as an end brace assembly for the strainer post 14), as shown in Figure 5, at an end of a wire fence line. Although not shown, the strainer post 14 is suitably anchored into the ground 15.

03/02/20

2020100171 03 Feb 2020

The connector assembly 10 includes a first planar panel 16 and a second planar panel which, in this particular embodiment, are made of galvanized steel. The first and second planar panels 16, 18 are perpendicularly interconnected to form a four equidistantly winged arrangement (as shown in Figure 1) of the connector assembly 10.

As best shown in Figure 2, the first planar panel 16 has a hooked first end portion 20 and a second end portion 22 opposite to, and wider than, the hooked first end portion

20. The second end portion 22 has a first pair of frictionally engageable edges 24, 26 at opposite sides thereof.

As best shown in Figure 3, the second planar panel 18 has an elongated first end portion and a second end portion 30 opposite to, and wider than, the elongated first end portion 28. The second end portion 30 has a second pair of frictionally engageable edges 32, 34 at opposite sides thereof.

In the connector assembly 10 shown in Figure 1, the hooked first end portion 20 of the first planar panel 16 and the elongated first end portion 28 of the second planar panel 18 form a first end 36 of the connector assembly 10. This configuration allows the first end 36 of the connector assembly 10 to be passed through a hole in a side of the strainer post 14, with the hooked first end portion 20 being hooked to an edge of the hole to secure the first end 36 of the connector assembly 10 to the strainer post 14, as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

In the same connector assembly 10 shown in Figure 1, the second end portions 22, 30 25 of the first and second planar panels 16, 18, respectively, form a second end 40 of the connector assembly 10. This configuration allows the second end 40 of the connector assembly 10 to be passed through an opening in the end 11 of the angle stay 12, with the first and second pairs of frictionally engageable edges 24, 26 and 32, 34, respectively, being wedged against an inner rim portion adjacent the opening to secure 30 the second end 40 of the connector assembly 10 to the angle stay 12, as also shown in

Figures 4 and 5.

03/02/20

In a preferred general embodiment, the first and second planar panels 16, 18 are made as separate pieces and are then perpendicularly interconnected by a preferred sliding arrangement described as follows.

The first planar panel 16 has a first female slot 42 extending from a first edge 44 of the first planar panel 16, and the second planar panel 18 has a second female slot 46 extending from a second edge 48 of the second planar panel 18. The four equidistantly winged arrangement (as shown in Figure 1) of the connector assembly 10, in which the first and second planar panels 16, 18 are perpendicularly interconnected, is formed by sliding the first and second female slots 42, 46 into each other.

In the particular embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 3, the first female slot 42 of the first planar panel 16 extends perpendicularly from a rearward facing first edge 44 of the first planar panel 16 and towards its hooked first end portion 20, and the second female slot 46 of the second planar panel 18 extends perpendicularly from a forward facing second edge 48 of the elongated first end portion 28 of the second planar panel 18 and towards its second end portion 30.

In an alternative embodiment not shown in the drawings but contemplated by the present inventor (and as would be appreciated by a person skilled in this art), the aforementioned first female slot of the first planar panel may instead extend perpendicularly from a forward facing first edge 80 (see Figure 2) of the hooked first end portion of the first planar panel and towards its second end portion, and the aforementioned second female slot of the second planar panel may instead extend perpendicularly from a rearward facing second edge 58 (see Figure 3) of the second planar panel and towards its elongated first end portion.

In each of the above described arrangements of female slots, the perpendicular interconnection of the first and second planar panels 16, 18 is formed by sliding the first and second female slots 42, 46 into each other.

03/02/20

2020100171 03 Feb 2020

The first planar panel 16 has, in this particular embodiment, a forward facing upper edge 50 located behind and above the hooked first end portion 20, and a forward facing lower edge 52 located behind and below the hooked first end portion 20. The forward facing upper edge 50 is located further away from the rearward facing edge 44 of the first planar panel 16 than is the forward facing lower edge 52 thereof.

The second planar panel 18 has, in this particular embodiment, a forward facing upper edge 54 located behind and above the elongated first end portion 28, and a forward facing lower edge 56 located behind and below the elongated first end portion 28. The 10 forward facing upper and lower edges 54, 56 are located the same distance away from a rearward facing edge 58 of the second planar panel 18.

In this particular embodiment, the second end portion 22, 30 of each of the first and second planar panels 16, 18 has a pair of outward steps 60, 62 and 64, 66, respectively, 15 at opposite sides thereof. Each outward step of a pair, such as the pair of outward steps

60, 62 of the second end portion 22 of the first planar panel 16, is so located between the frictionally engageable edge 24, 26 and the forward facing edge 50, 52 that they (i.e. both outward steps of a pair) are pressed against respective edges of the opening in the end of the angle stay 12 when the second end 36 of the connector assembly 10 is secured to the angle stay 12.

Figure 4 shows an angle stay and strainer post structure 70 at a stage in a process of being assembled to form an end of a wire fence line. The connector assembly 10, in this particular embodiment of the process, pivotally connects the end 11 of the angle stay 12 25 to the strainer post 14 when the structure 70 is in the preliminary position shown.

The angle stay 12 is then pivotally lowered (see the direction of arrow A in Figure 4) to enable the other end 72 of the angle stay 12 to reach a final position in which it is connected to a ground-supported stay foot 74, as shown in Figure 5. Such a stay foot 74 30 is sometimes referred to as a “floating” stay foot as it is not pinned down, or otherwise embedded, into the ground 15.

03/02/20

2020100171 03 Feb 2020

As the stay foot 74 is ground-supported rather than ground-embedded, the necessary tension force between the angle stay 12 and the strainer post 14 (to balance the compression force provided through the angle stay 12 on the strainer post 14 which would otherwise tend to make the strainer post “flip” or be pulled out from the ground

15 when large forces are exerted on the strained fence wires 75) must be provided by a tensile member 76. The tensile member 76 may be an externally threaded rod, tension cable or highly tensioned wire, or any combination of these, which extends above and parallel to the ground 15 between the end 72 of the angle stay 12 and the bottom 78 of the strainer post 14.

Without such a tensile member 76, the weight of the fence ends up on the stay foot 74. For example, a tension cable 76 can transfer that weight to the bottom 78 of the strainer post 14 where it is needed the most. This reduces the chances of the strainer post 14 pulling out of the ground.

A more detailed description of how such a redistribution and balancing of forces can occur in an end brace assembly (which utilizes an angle stay as the compression member) for a strainer post of a wire fence may be found in International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2019/000011 (WIPO Publication No. WO 2019/148234) from 20 the same inventor, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in details of the design and construction of the connector assembly 10 and of the angle stay and strainer post structure 70 described above without departing from the scope or ambit of the present invention.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or 30 information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general

03/02/20 knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates before the filing date of this patent application.

Claims

1. A connector assembly for connecting an end of an angle stay to a strainer post of a wire fence, the connector assembly comprising:

(a) a first planar panel having a hooked first end portion and a second end portion opposite to, and wider than, the hooked first end portion, the second end portion having a first pair of frictionally engageable edges at opposite sides thereof, (b) a second planar panel having an elongated first end portion and a second end portion opposite to, and wider than, the elongated first end portion, the second end portion having a second pair of frictionally engageable edges at opposite sides thereof, (c) the first and second planar panels being perpendicularly interconnected to form a four equidistantly winged arrangement of the connector assembly, in which:

2. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the first and second planar panels are made as separate pieces, the first planar panel having a first female slot extending from a first edge of the first planar panel, and the second planar panel having a second female slot extending from a second edge of the second planar panel, wherein the perpendicular interconnection of the first and second planar panels is formed by sliding the first and second female slots into each other.

03/02/20

2020100171 03 Feb 2020

3. The connector assembly of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the first planar panel has a forward facing upper edge located behind and above the hooked first end portion, and a forward facing lower edge located behind and below the hooked first end portion, wherein the forward facing upper edge is located further away from the rearward facing

5 edge of the first planar panel than is the forward facing lower edge thereof.

4. The connector assembly of claim 3, wherein the second end portion of each of the first and second planar panels has a pair of outward steps at opposite sides thereof, each outward step of a pair being located between the frictionally engageable edge and

10 the forward facing edge so that they are pressed against respective edges of the opening in the end of the angle stay when the second end of the connector assembly is secured to the angle stay.

5. An angle stay and strainer post structure for an end of a wire fence line, the

15 structure comprising an angle stay, a strainer post, and the connector assembly of any one of claims 1 to 4 which connects an end of the angle stay to the strainer post.