AU742458B2 - Portable temporary fencing - Google Patents

Description

1 PORTABLE TEMPORARY FENCING FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to temporary fencing either for temporary security fencing (for example at building sites) or for crowd control barriers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is common to practice to provide temporary fencing around building sites or to use temporary fencing as a crowd control barrier. Typically such fencing consists of steel mesh S. .panels (generally wire mesh supported on a tubular metal frame which has legs depending •therefrom) which are removably located in concrete base blocks. The panels may therefore 10 be located as required to provide a temporary line of fencing for the purpose of providing 0. security or safety at building sites, excavation sites etc or used to control the location and/or flow of crowds as necessary at venues such as sporting events or other open air o spectaculars.

o 0000 One major drawback of such fencing however is that the concrete base blocks are roughly oooo rectangular in shape and are normally provided with a pair of holes generally around their middle region so that when the legs of adjacent mesh panels are inserted into such holes, the concrete block extends a substantial distance either side of the actual fence line. Whilst this 0.*0 is an advantage in the sense that such an arrangement provides stability for the fence, both against the crowd itself or the elements such as wind, in many circumstances this is a major disadvantage, especially where the crowd to be controlled is moving alongside the fence (ie the fence provides a barrier along a walkway or pathway as opposed to a relatively static viewing situation), since the blocks will be an impediment to the flow of pedestrians. In other words, the location of the concrete blocks which thus extend perpendicularly from the line of the fence, provides a potential safety hazard in that people passing close by the perimeter of the fence are likely to stumble on the concrete blocks which jut out into the pedestrian path as defined by the fence line.

2 It woul4 t4 hrfore be advantageous to provide an alternate arrangement to the foregoing in wN9ri he concrete' 1~aS blocks do not provide such a hazard, but at the same time provide adeqapte sppor t9 s4fely maintain the fence in an upright position. Whilst it might be considered q vius to simply move the holes to one end of each block, this results in an inherently unstflg arrangement in that the fence will be likely, especially under the influence f the wind or even as a result of being pulled over by the crowd, to topple over in the directipn of least resistance, ie towards the side where there is little or no footing extendin. beyond the fence line. Furthermore, if the holes are placed towards one end of convent ial blocks, there is a greater likelihood that the material around the hole will break away ca~sing the fence panels to be dislodged.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object pfthe present invention to overcome or at least ameliorate some or all of the foregoing qisadvantages by providing an improved temporary fence arrangement in which the footings or base blocks of the fence do not extend significantly beyond the line 15 of the fence as de ned by the mesh panels, at least along one side of the fence. At the very least, the inventipn provides an alternative to previously known methods of erecting a temporary fence.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to the pfpsent invention there is provided a temporary fencing arrangement comprising mesh panels removably located in base support blocks to form a line of fencing, the panels being substantially rectangular and having leg members located at and depending from their edlS for removable location in support means in the base support blocks, each blook binig.provided with support means located in the vicinity of one edge of the block for receiving the respective legs of adjacent fence panels so that the line of fencing defined by the panels is substantially in line with one edge of the blocks, the blocks extending substantially from one side only of the fence line, each block further having suitable reinforcing therein to prevent the block from breaking up under normal use conditions, the support means being provided by a top and bottom plate arrangement, in which the top plate has at least a pair or holes therethrough and the bottom plate is a single plate or pair of strips, with means provided to join the upper and lower plates for example by bolts, and tubular means extending upwardly from the top plate into which the legs of the respective panels are inserted.

Preferably each block has means associated therewith for interconnecting one or more blocks to provide additional stability as required against the likelihood of the fence falling away from that side on which the majority portion of each block extends, the means for interconnecting the blocks being provided in the form of holes located through the blocks, through which threaded bar or other suitable material may be inserted so that one or more blocks may be connected and secured by means of a nut threaded onto the bar and tightened accordingly, or the blocks may be linked by means of metal strapping.

Preferably the tubular means for receiving each respective leg of a panel is an oversized pipe section and each panel of the fencing arrangement is provided with a spacer plate facility affixed for example by welding to the bottom corner of the fence panel to enable each panel to fit in such a way that adjacent panels are brought into close proximity with each other 15 along their side edges and the lower edge of each panel is located approximately along the line drawn between the upper edges of consecutive base blacks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 is a schematic representation (being a top view) of a typical fence line resulting from using base blocks and panels according to the prior art, Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of a typical fence line resulting from using base blocks and panels according to one aspect of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a top view schematic view of two base blocks according to one aspect of the invention showing them in joined relationship, Fig. 4 shows the top view of the top plate used in connection with one aspect of the invention, Fig. 5 shows a pair of strips (substituting for a full plate) corresponding to the bottom plate for use with the top plate illustrate din Fig. 4.

4 Fig. 6 shows the side view of the top plate illustrated in Fig. 4, Fig. 7 shows the side view of one of the bottom strips illustrated in Fig. 5, and Fig. 8 shows a schematic representation of the edge of one panel located in the top plate of base block according to the components of the embodiment as illustrated throughout Figs. 2 to 7.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring generally to the drawings and in particular to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a conventional fence arrangement (Fig. 1) and one embodiment according to the present invention (Fig. 2) in which like elements are referenced with the same numerals. Thus fencing panels 11 are located between base blocks 12 to define a boundary, eg along a path :i :"or pedestrian way 13. In the case of the conventional fence shown in Fig 1, the fence line as defined by the panels 11 of the fence runs from the centre of one block 12 to another. This means that the blocks in the region 14 thereof extend into the pathway 13 by approximately half their length. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 2, panels 11 of the present invention are located along the edges of the base blocks 12, so that regions 14 do not extend to any great degree into the pedestrian path 13.

Referring generally to Figs 3 to 7, the various components of the fence arrangement are shown, the whole assembly being shown schematically in Fig. 8. Figure 3 shows a t-shaped formation, wherein a pair of base blocks 12' and 12' are located adjacent each other and 20 bolted together with a connecting rod 15, the ends of which are threaded (not specifically shown) and onto which nuts 16 are secured in known fashion.

Fig. 4 to 7 show the top and bottom plates 17 and 18 which are used to provide the support means to hold the feet 19 of therespective fence panels 11. The top or upper plate 17 consists of a relatively flat square plate section 20 through which are formed four holes 21.

The lower plate elements 18 are in fact a pair of strips 18, although it will be appreciated that a single larger plate would suffice. Holes 22 are located in the pair of lower strips 18 corresponding to the location of holes 21. These holes also correspond with holes located through the base block proper 12, although these holes through the base block 12 are not shown. When located above and below the base block 12, threaded rod elements (not shown) are inserted through the holes in the base blocks and used to join the upper and lower plate elements with nuts in known fashion. Extending above one pair of holes 21 are a pair of oversized pipe sections 23, providing tubular support for the legs of panel sections 11 as illustrated specifically in Fig. 8.

In particular, Fig. 8 shows the use of a spacer element 24 located between the main upright frame member 25 and a short uprighht frame element 26, so that in use the bottom portion of the frame member 24 is located in the oversized pipe portion 23 enabling the panel to be located not only adjacent the next panel (not illustrated) but also allowing the lower edge of the panel to extend below the top of the oversized pipe section 23 towards the top of the base block 12. In this way the bottom line of the fence will approximate the line formed by joining the top surface of consecutive base blocks.

In this way, fence panel sections may be located in useful relationship to provide secure barrier for safety or control, the panels being located without significant gaps therebetween and more particularly because of the location of the oversized upright support sections in relationship to the base block itself, the panels form a line offence which is substantially along the edges of the base black as discussed earlier in relation to Fig. 1.

Finally, it has proved advantageous to provide reinforcing to the base blocks 12, which are generally made of concrete in order to avoid fracture under conditions of stress, although it will be appreciated that the upper and lower plate elements also provide in themselves a 20 measure of increased resistance to fracture of the base blocks.

The foregoing 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 of the present invention.

Claims (4)

1. A temporary fencing arrangement comprising mesh panels removably located in base support blocks to form a line of fencing, the panels being substantially rectangular and having leg members located at and depending from their ends for removable location in support means in the base support blocks, each block being provided with support means located in the vicinity of one edge of the block for receiving the respective legs of adjacent fence panels so that the line of fencing defined by the panels is substantially in line with one edge of the blocks, the blocks extending substantially from one side only of the fence line, each block further having suitable reinforcing therein to prevent the block from breaking up under normal use conditions, the support means being provided by a top and bottom plate arrangement, in which the top plate has at least a pair or holes therethrough and the bottom .•goplate is a single plate or pair of strips, with means provided to join the upper and lower plates for example by bolts, and tubular means extending upwardly from the top plate into which the legs of the respective panels are inserted. 15

2. A temporary fencing arrangement according to claim 1 in which each block has •go, means associated therewith for interconnecting one or more blocks to provide additional stability as required against the likelihood of the fence falling away from that side on which the majority portion of each block extends, the means for interconnecting the blocks being provided in the form of holes located through the blocks, through which threaded bar or other suitable material may be inserted so that one or more blocks may be connected and secured by means of a nut threaded onto the bar and tightened accordingly, or the blocks may be linked by means of metal strapping.

3. A temporary fencing arrangement according to either claim 1 or claim 2 in which the tubular means for receiving each respective leg of a panel is an oversized pipe section and each panel of the fencing arrangement is provided with a spacer plate facility affixed for example by welding to the bottom corner of the fence panel to enable each panel to fit in such a way that adjacent panels are brought into close proximity with each other along their side edges and the lower edge of each panel is located approximately along the line drawn between the upper edges of consecutive base blacks.

4. A temporary fencing arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. 2 to 8 of the accompanying drawings. DATED this Twentieth day of March 2000 M J Hill Transport Pty Ltd Patent Attorneys for the Applicant WILSON YOUNG *oo