AU640574B2 - Improvements in or relating to fencing - Google Patents

Description

P

P/00oa/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA 4O574 AUS-"R14 057 4 PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

TO BE COhPEqZM BY hPPICNT Name of Applicant* GEORGE KASTANARAS .a (ctu* Inventor. George Kastanaras q TO BE COMPLEIED BY APPLICANT ':Address for Service: MR PETER NIOLLS, Ellesmere, 5 Ardmillan Road, Moonee Ponds, Victoria 3039, Australia **ivention Ttle: "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO FENCING" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- This invention relates to fences and fencing.

A typical wooden fence consists of square- or rectangular- section posts with their feet portions buried in the ground and having vertically spaced notched or rebated portions adapted to receive horizontal rails to the outside of which is nailed a wall of horizontally spaced pales, or pickets, or overlapping, vertically extending boards or slats.

Such fences tend to be unsightly, especially from the inside or the side to which the posts and rails are exposed. They can also lack suitable strength against wind and other potentially destructive agencies. In particular, the notching or rebating of the posts, in order to accommodate the rails, can cause considerable weakening, and under such circumstances it has often been considered necessary to make the posts, and possibly other parts of the fence as well, from hardwood 9 such as redgum.

It is an object of the invention is to provide for quickly, easily and conveniently erecting a safe, strong, and efficient fence which is not merely sturdy, but easily constructed, pleasing to the eye and "friendly" to the environment.

fence having a wall fastened directly to spaced front and rear elem nts-o a double post, the elements being located on opposite si the wall and substantially 9. i0 entirely outside its bounding e i.e. the parallel vertical planes between which the wall is e y situated and which is contacted by foremost and rearmost elements of the wall.

-2- Accordingly the present invention provides a fence including wall members extending between spaced solid wooden double post elements located respectively to the front and rear of the members and substantially entirely outside their respective front and rear bounding planes, i.e. the parallel vertical planes between which the wall is entirely situated and which is contacted by foremost and rearmost elements of the wall, and fastenings driven through said wooden post elements into respectively abutting portions of said wall members so as to extend throughout the entire thickness of the relevant post elements in a direction normal to said planes.

6 y o y y y p p p p p y o* y *ooy jSo~ 0 -2As I I But in order that the invention may be better understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, of which:- Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a first practical embodiment of a fence unit according to the invention; Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the unit of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an end elevation of the unit of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a section of a post of the unit of Figures 1, 2 and 3 across the line 4-4 in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a section across line 5-5 in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a vertical section through the middle of a post of the unit of Figures 1 to 5 inclusive; Figure 7 shows how the unit of Figures 1 to 6 inclusive is fixed or extended V 9.

in end-to-end juxtaposition to two similar formations, to provide a fence of desired length; Figure 8 is a front perspective view of a second practical embodiment of a fence unit according to the invention; Figure 9 is a front elevation of the unit of Figure 8; Figure 10 is an end elevation of the unit of Figures 8 and 9; Figure 11 is a rear elevation of the unit of Figures 8, 9 and 10 inclusive; "o Figure 12 is a front elevation of a length or portion of fence constructed with double posts, of which portions hidden by the wall are shown in dotted outlines; -3- Figure 13 is a top plan of the fence of Figure 12; Figures 14 to 17 are sections across lines 14-14 to 17-17 inclusive, respectively, in Figure 12; Figure 18 is an enlarged side elevation of a the top of fence in the area indicated by 18 in Fig. 12 showing double, rather than single, fastenings of the slats which are outermost with respect to tlhe relevant post, and Figure 19 is a section across line 19-19 in Figure 18.

Referring to the drawings in more detail, the unit of Figure 1 has end posts 1, 2 each consisting of a pair of elements 3/4 and 5/6 respectively between which are secured, such as by bolts or nailing as shown in Figure 4, the end portions of slats 7 to 10 which abut edge to edge, as more dearly appears from Figure 3, so as to leave substantially no gap between vertically adjacent slats. The upper edge portion of the top slat 7 extends above the tops of posts 1, 2 and is received in a groove or slot on the underside of top rail 11. Spacers or inserts 12 may be incorporated where necessary or desirable e.g. between base portions of opposite post elements, or where else there is space unoccupied by slats.

In use (see Figure 7) the posts can be buried up to the level of the bottom edge of the lowest slat so as, advantageously, to leave no gap between the fence and the ground.

Midway between posts 1 and 2, the slats may be secured on each side to braces 13, 14 which tend further to strengthen the fence. Although 13 and 14 are illustrated as terminating at the lower edge of the lowest slat 10, they may be -4prolonged downwards so that their lower ends can also be buried in the ground.

This can afford additional strength and rigidity if desired.

The adjacent edge portions of vertically adjacent slats may be fitted within an H-section plastics or metal element such as 15, as best shown in Figures 5 and 6.

Figure 7 shows how a unit 16 co-operates with adjacent units 17, 18 to form part of a continuous fence. For this purpose some or all units can be made with slats 7-10 and/or rails 11 terminating at the outside of the post(s) rather than halfway as illustrated e.g. in Figures 1 and 2, or such that one post is common to adjacent units.

Other possible variations are that one or more slats may be common to two 4* 6 .or more adjacent "units", and/or may terminate between braces 13 and 14. In each case, any gaps between the adjacent ends of slats, be they in the posts or braces, may be occupied by inserts such as 12.

Other possibilities for the edge configurations of the slats are that they could be complementarily bevelled or stepped.

My double post is advantageously applicable to a fence wall whereof, such as for improved strength and/or security, the material of the wall is distributed alternately to either side of a mid-plane. Figures 8 to 19 illustrate such a (vertically) periodic construction in the form of overlapping slats 19 to 23 inclusive on either side of mid-plane MM' as best shown in Figure 10. The slats form a wall of which the front faces of front slats 19, 21 and 23 are in the front boundary plane and the rear faces of rear slats 20 and 22 are in the rear boundary plane. It will be evident that front and rear post elements are located on opposite sides of the wall and are substantially entirely outside its the walls) boundary planes.

If desired, the spacing between double post elements may be along and/or across the fence line. Figures 12 to 19 show part of a fence whereof an end support is a double post 24 of which the elements 25, 26 are spaced across the fence line, and other supports are provided by double post elements 27, 27' and 28, 28' etc. spaced along, as well as across, the fence line.

The slats are of any desired length, convenient for carrying e.g. by two men. The maximum spacing of post elements 25-27, 27-27', 27-28 etc. along the fence line, will usually be determined by regulation. In Figs 12 to 19 the slats are length four times this unit distance with their ends staggered for additional strength. Thus the ends of top slats abut at, and are fastened to, elements 27 and 4 29; the ends of the second run of slats abut at and are fastened to 27' and to the element next to the right of 29 but not shown; the next to 28 etc.

Shorter slats such as 30, 31 and 32 at the top left of Figure 12 may be :::~:required where the fence ends.

Between their ends, the slats may be fastened to the post elements as each by a single fastening as shown in Figs 12 to 17, or with double "120 fastenings as shown i Figs 18 and 19, or in any other suitable manner.

My double post construction readily lends itself to other wall constructions, especially corrugated sheet metal such as where horizontal corrugations provide a -6r vertically alternating or periodic structure which, in conjunction with my double posts, affords a very strong configuration highly resistant to wind and other forces.

Furthermore my double post principle can dearly be extended to provide e.g. a triple post structure for enhanced support of a single wall or for a doublewall fence whereof one wall may be e.g. of wooden slats and a closely parallel wall may be of e.g. corrugated sheet metal. Local standards or regulations may permit wider post spacing in the direction of the fence where the fence is of metal.

The plural post structure of my invention and the manner of wall fastening permitted thereby allows of great strength and resistance to high winds and to other potentially destructive forces.

It will also be evident how fences can be made up of units or modules of i: this invention so as to be readily pre-fabricable i.e. they can be made in the factory, transported to the required location and assembled in situ.

I Also the intrinsic strength of construction, due in large measure to the double-post formation, allows fencing to be conveniently made of softwood e.g. of treated pine or other relatively rapidly renewable timber, with posts/post elements of e.g. Cyprus pine, in contrast to conventional e.g. post/rail/paling fences which to attain similar strength would normally need to have a high hardwood (e.g.

redgum) component. By using pine or other timber that grows fairly quickly, my S'0 fencing and unit tend to be "friendly" towards the environment.

In addition, my fencing is readily and conveniently produced without gaps or spaces. This tends to discourage spiders, insects and other creatures that might -7otherwise nest in the fence, and makes it more difficult, for e.g. overly adventurous children, to scale.

Additionally, unlike e.g. a conventional post-and-rail construction, the form and appearance of the fence/unit can be substantially the same on both sides a factor that can have advantages when the fence is a dividing fence between adjacent properties of different owners.

Especially in the case of a fence abutting a road or other "public" land, post or post elements of the fence may extend upwardly beyond the top of the wall for the purposes of supporting one or more strands of barbed wire or other security means.' The post structure's being on both sides of the wall formation may have be to be taken account of when arranging the fence in relation to property boundaries.

a Neighbours who contemplate building between their properties a fence according to my invention, may agree that the mid-plane of the fence shall be on the boundary. However where the fence abuts public land such as a road, it might be necessary or desirable for the whole fence structure, including all post elements, to be completely inside the boundary, and for any barbed wire or the like to be entirely within the property. Therefore it is preferably the "inside" post elements, or some of them, that support barbed wire or suchlike security means.

One method of building a fence according to my invention is as follows.

Consider a fence such as shown in Figure 12 is required to separate "front" and "back" areas defined by a prescribed straight boundary line joining points X and -8- Y. Divide XY into suitable modules which, as already stated, will probably depend upon local standards or regulations. Assume the mid-plane of the fence is to coincide with the boundary line. Holes are dug alternately on either side of the boundary line for the post elements so that the rearward extremities of the front elements will be coplanar with the forward extremities of the rear elements, in a plane that intersects the boundary line. And at X and Y are dug holes each to accommodate a double post thickness plus, of course, the wall thickness. The posts are then established and concreted in the holes and thereafter the slats are positioned and fastened.

Terms such as "vertical", "horizontal", "uprights", "upper", "lower", "above", "top", "underside", "base", "bottom", "downwards", "front", "rear", "foremost", "rearmost", and their derivatives as used herein refer to the invention in use, and are not to be read as necessarily limiting.

o t o o a* -9-

Claims (7)

1. A fence including wall members extending between spaced solid wooden double post elements located respectively to the front and rear of the members and substantially entirely outside their respective front and rear bounding planes as hereinbefore defined, and fastenings driven through said wooden post elements into respectively abutting portions of said wall members so as to extend throughout the entire thickness of the relevant post elements in a direction normal to said planes.

2. A fence as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wall members are horizontal Slats fastened to the post elements so as to leave no visible gap when the fence is viewed front to rear.

3. A fence as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said members are of length substantially equal to a multiple of a spacing unit between said elements.

4. A fence as claimed in claim 3 wherein at one or both ends of the fence is a double post of which the elements are directly opposite one another with respect to the wall.

A fence as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the members comprise a first group all of substantially the same length and a second group for an end or the ends of the fence, all shorter than those of the first group and of length being a lower multiple of said unit.

6. A method of constructing a fence substantially as herein described.

7. A fence constructed substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 9* DATED this 2nd day of June, 1993 "S GEORGE KASTANARAS B tS'Patent Attorney: PETR NICHOLLS eeoc 10 ABSTRA-CJ Af.ence having double posts with spaced post elements 25, 26, 27, 27' etc. to the front and rear of the fence wall which is fastened directly to the posts. -i 11