EP2722469B1 - Part for attaching a mesh panel to a notched fence post - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a fastener part of a lattice panel on a notched pole for the realization of fences.

The present invention is more particularly intended to improve and simplify assemblies of the type consisting of a panel comprising undulating profile warp yarns and weft yarns, and a notched pole, in particular, but not exclusively, of a notched post formed of an extruded profile with double rabbets.

Technological background

Fences are known comprising poles between which are fixed lattice panels, this type of fence serving to materialize a separation between two parcels or to delimit an enclosed space, is well known.

We thus know by the European patent EP 0 903 452 B1 in the name of the present applicant, a fence comprising panels of the welded mesh type with undulating profile warp son, and poles provided on at least one of their lateral faces, a rebate delimited in particular by two sidewalls placed next, one of these flanks with a channel.

The other side of this rabbet, opposite that with a channel, has an inclined face to facilitate the insertion of the panel in this channel.

This technical solution is particularly advantageous in that it allows direct assembly of the panel and the corresponding post without mounting part.

The realization of such a fence is thus greatly simplified because the operator does not need to have at his disposal many fixation. In addition, the time required to construct such a fence is reduced and accordingly, its cost is lower.

However, the manufacture of these posts has certain disadvantages, and the panels and posts of such a fence necessarily follow a linear layout. It is thus not possible to achieve with such a pole / panel assembly, a fence with any angles.

It is also known from the patent EP 1 382 778 B1 , a notched fence post whose folds laterally block the flattened or deformed ends of the weft son of a lattice panel so as to ensure the assembly of this panel with the post.

However, such a notched pole can not be implemented with a lattice panel whose edge to be joined to the post comprises a corrugated profile edge warp wire.

Indeed, the ends of the weft son being welded to the edge warp, they have less flexibility. This lack of flexibility then no longer allows compensation for any manufacturing tolerance deviations between the positions of the notches of the post and the weft son of the lattice panel.

In addition, the assembly of such a panel on this notched post is laborious and time consuming for the operator and also does not allow the realization of a fence with any angles.

Overcoming the prejudices set out above, the present applicant has shown in her application for patent FR 11 55398 , all the interest that could have a rectilinear notched pole for the realization of fences with lattice panels whose ends intended to be assembled to the poles are defined by son of corrugated profile chain.

In particular, such a notched pole requires manufacturing tolerances lower than that implemented in the EP 0,903,452 B1 thereby allowing the use of less expensive constituent materials such as steel.

In addition, a fence equipped with such rectilinear notched posts and such lattice panels, has an improved inviolability because the weft son are taken in the rectilinear or linear notches of the post of fenced. The extraction from the posts, anchored to the ground, said panels is thus prohibited.

However, again, there is an urgent need for a fastening clip allowing angular orientation of the lattice panel with respect to the slotted fence post.

Object of the invention

The present invention aims to overcome these various disadvantages of the prior art by providing a fastener of the end of a lattice panel to a notched fence post, this end of the panel comprising a border warp thread, simple in its design and in its operating mode, economic and ensuring easy assembly of such a mesh panel welded with the pole.

Another object of the present invention is such a fastener which allows any angular orientation of the welded mesh panel with respect to the fence post without weakening this assembly, particularly with regard to the inviolability of the fence thus obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To this end, the invention relates to a fastening part of a lattice panel to a fence post, said fence post comprising on at least one of its lateral faces a rabbet comprising a bottom and two sides, said rabbet being intended receiving one end of the panel having a ripple profile edge warp yarn and weft yarns, one of said flanks of said rabbet having notches placed over at least a portion of the length of said pole, for receiving and housing the the end of at least some of said weft yarns of said panel so as to allow the introduction of said corrugation profile into said at least one rebate, said notches being in communication with a column housing distinct from said rebate.

According to the invention,

• said elongated fastener comprises, at one of its ends, two fingers whose at least the free ends are at least partially spaced apart from one another,
• each free end of said fingers carries a pin directed towards the outside of the piece, said pins being placed laterally to said piece,
• at least said pins are intended to be received in said post housing when the free ends of said fingers are inserted in a notch, to ensure the assembly of said end of the fastener to said side with the notches,
• said part comprising a recess for passing the edge warp thread of said panel so that said edge warp thread is placed between said piece and said bottom of the rabbet in the assembly position of said panel to said post.

It should be noted that such a fastener is advantageously held in position in the post between the flanks facing the rabbet of the notched pole. This fastener therefore does not necessarily have a fulcrum with the bottom of this rabbet.

This pole housing may, for illustrative purposes, be formed by the inside of the hollow wing of the pole carrying the notches, or lights. More generally, this post housing is partially delimited by the rabbet flank comprising said notches so that the free ends of said fingers are inserted in a notch, said pins are placed at least partly behind the flank of the rabbet comprising said notches relative to this rebate, thereby preventing any withdrawal of the fastener by traction on it.

Advantageously, these notches can be rectilinear or flared lights, the narrowest portion of these lights being then placed towards the inside of the post. The introduction of the weft son of the lattice panel in these flared notches is thus facilitated.

Preferably, the narrowest portion of these flared notches is greater than or equal to the smallest diameter of the weft son to be housed.

More generally, the fingers of the piece have a square cross section, rectangular or inscribed in a rectangle. In the latter two cases, the longer sides of this section are intended to be introduced into the notch parallel to the longitudinal direction of this notch while its shorter sides are intended to be introduced in the transverse direction of this notch . This geometry of the fingers makes it possible to ensure on the one hand that each pin is carried by a surface of the finger of sufficient size while conferring the flexibility necessary to the fingers of the fastener for their introduction into the notch.

It also follows that each pin is configured to withstand the tearing by manual pulling on the fastener engaged in a notch, for example due to at least the thickness of its base secured to the free end of the finger .

• ladite pièce est configurée pour recevoir entre lesdits doigts un fil de trame lorsque les extrémités libres desdits doigts sont introduites dans une encoche logeant l'extrémité d'un fil de trame,
• au moins les extrémités libres desdits doigts sont au moins partiellement espacées l'une de l'autre d'une distance sensiblement égale au diamètre desdits fils de trame ou au moins égale au diamètre desdits fils de trame.

In different embodiments of this fastener, the present invention also relates to the following features which should be considered in isolation or in all their technically possible combinations:

• said piece is configured to receive between said fingers a weft thread when the free ends of said fingers are introduced into a notch housing the end of a weft thread,
• at least the free ends of said fingers are at least partially spaced from each other by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of said weft yarns or at least equal to the diameter of said weft yarns.

By "substantially equal" is meant that this distance may be smaller than the diameter of a weft thread either because of the manufacturing tolerances, said distance being determined for a theoretical diameter of this weft thread, or of a value less than 10% of the diameter of the weft yarn, when said fingers are configured to be spaced apart by this weft yarn after contacting the free ends of these fingers with this weft yarn during the force introduction of the end of the fastener in the notch housing this weft yarn.

Preferably, this fastener comprising a main body, said fingers are spaced along their entire length by a distance at least equal to, or substantially equal to, the diameter of said weft son forming the branches of a U integral with this body main.

Alternatively, this part may be made of a deformable material so that the ends of said fingers being pressed against said weft thread during the introduction of the free ends of the fingers into the notch housing said weft yarn, these fingers move apart to engage on said weft yarn, the pins then being moved and received in the pole housing.

• au moins une portion de chacun desdits pions est arrondie de sorte que lesdits pions déterminent un axe de rotation de la pièce placé hors de la feuillure lorsque les extrémités libres desdits doigts on été introduites dans une encoche,

For example, this part is made of a plastically or elastically deformable material so as to allow this separation of the fingers, for example, initially partially pressed against each other.

• at least a portion of each of said pins is rounded so that said pins determine an axis of rotation of the piece placed out of the rabbet when the free ends of said fingers have been introduced into a notch,

• lesdits pions comportent un ou plusieurs chanfreins pour faciliter leur engagement dans le logement de poteau,
• au moins une partie dudit évidement de passage du fil de chaîne de bordure étant formée par lesdits doigts, au moins un des doigts comporte une languette destinée à plaquer le fil de chaîne contre le fond de feuillure en position d'assemblage dudit panneau audit poteau.

This axis of rotation thus allows a facilitated insertion of the fastener into the rebate in order to assemble its other end on the other side of the rabbet.

• said pins have one or more chamfers to facilitate their engagement in the pole housing,
• at least a portion of said passage recess of the edge warp thread being formed by said fingers, at least one of the fingers has a tongue for pressing the warp yarn against the rabbet bottom in the assembly position of said panel to said post.

Advantageously, each finger has such a tongue so that these tabs placed vis-à-vis define with the bottom of the rabbet, a receiving housing of the edge warp wire in which the wire is pressed against the bottom of the rabbet.

• ladite pièce ayant une dimension transversale supérieure à celle de ladite encoche, au moins un desdits doigts comporte un épaulement de sorte que les extrémités libres desdits doigts puissent être introduites dans ladite encoche,
• l'autre flanc de ladite feuillure comportant un ressaut, lesdits doigts sont solidaires d'un corps principal de ladite pièce destiné à venir en appui contre le fond de la feuillure, l'autre extrémité de ladite pièce étant formée par une portion recourbée dudit corps principal destinée à prendre appui contre ledit ressaut pour assurer la fixation de la pièce avec ledit flanc.

Thus, any risk of vibration of the edge warp wire in the rabbet is removed and as a result, spurious noise.

• said part having a transverse dimension greater than that of said notch, at least one of said fingers comprises a shoulder so that the free ends of said fingers can be introduced into said notch,
• the other side of said rebate having a projection, said fingers are integral with a main body of said part intended to bear against the bottom of the rabbet, the other end of said part being formed by a bent portion of said body main intended to bear against said projection to ensure the attachment of the part with said flank.

• cette pièce de fixation est d'une seule pièce.

Preferably, this curved portion has a V-shaped cutout defining two points, or pins, intended to bear against said projection to ensure the attachment of the part with said flank.

• this fastener is in one piece.

Preferably, it is made of a spring steel or zamac. For the record, zamac is an alloy of zinc, aluminum, magnesium and copper, which is both mechanically resistant while having the desired elasticity.

The invention also relates to a fence comprising posts between which panels joined to said posts extend, each of said posts having on at least one of its lateral faces a housing receiving the end of a panel, this end of said panel comprising a ripple profile edge warp yarn and weft yarns, characterized in that at least one of said poles comprises a fastener as described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• la figure 1 représente schématiquement une vue en perspective d'une pièce de fixation selon un mode de réalisation particulier de la présente invention,
• la Figure 2 représente une vue de dessus d'un ensemble poteau et panneau en treillis, la pièce de fixation de la fig. 1 étant introduite dans la feuillure du poteau en vue de l'assemblage du panneau au poteau,
• la Figure 3 représente une vue de dessus d'un ensemble poteau et panneau en treillis, la pièce de fixation de la fig. 1 étant en position d'assemblage dans la feuillure du poteau,
• la Figure 4 montre une vue en perspective partielle de l'ensemble de la fig. 3,
• la Figure 5 montre une vue partielle de dessus d'une clôture dans laquelle deux panneaux sont assemblés avec des pièces de fixation de la fig. 1 en conférant un angle aigu à la clôture,
• la Figure 6 montre une vue partielle de dessus d'une clôture dans laquelle deux panneaux sont assemblés avec des pièces de fixation de la fig. 1 en conférant un angle aigu à la clôture,

Other advantages, aims and particular features of the present invention will emerge from the description which follows, for an explanatory and non-limiting purpose, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

• the figure 1 schematically represents a perspective view of a fastener according to a particular embodiment of the present invention,
• the Figure 2 represents a top view of a post and lattice panel assembly, the fastener part of the Fig. 1 being introduced into the rebate of the post for the assembly of the panel to the post,
• the Figure 3 represents a top view of a post and lattice panel assembly, the fastener part of the Fig. 1 being in the assembly position in the rabbet of the post,
• the Figure 4 shows a partial perspective view of the entire Fig. 3 ,
• the Figure 5 shows a partial top view of a fence in which two panels are assembled with fasteners of the Fig. 1 by giving a sharp angle to the fence,
• the Figure 6 shows a partial top view of a fence in which two panels are assembled with fasteners of the Fig. 1 by giving a sharp angle to the fence,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

First, we note that the figures are not scaled.

The Figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a fastener according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

This fixing piece which is integral and made of plastic material such as polyamide, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyester, ..., has an elongated main body of which one end has a rounded shape. rounded shape 11 which is intended to be introduced into a groove of a rabbet of a post, has a shape complementary to this groove.

This main body also comprises two fingers 12, 13 whose free ends define the other end of the fastening piece 10.

These two fingers 12, 13 are spaced from one another by a distance equal to the largest diameter of the weft son may be implemented with the notched pole so as to be usable with any which of these weft threads.

Each free end of these fingers 12, 13 supports a pin 14 directed towards the outside of the piece, these pins being placed laterally to the latter so that they are oriented opposite each other in defining an axis advantageously parallel or substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the notched pole.

In the empty space 15 thus formed between its fingers 12, 13 while separating them in their entirety, the fastening piece 10 is intended to receive a weft thread housed in the notch of a notched pole when its end comprising said fingers 12, 13 is introduced.

The length of the fingers 12, 13 is sufficient to give the fastener 10 sufficient flexibility to ensure the introduction of these fingers 12, 13 in the notch receiving the weft, the pins 14 then being placed in a pole housing being restrained by the wall of this post featuring these lights.

Each pin 14 advantageously comprises a chamfer to facilitate the engagement and clipping of these pins 14 in the pole housing.

Advantageously, the rounded end 11 of the fastener 10 is first introduced into the groove of the opposite side of the rebate. that comprising the notches, then the fastener 10 is rotated by the operator so as to engage the free ends of the fingers 12, 13 in the notch.

Depending on the diameter of the weft yarn of the lattice panel considered, the free ends of the fingers 12, 13 come to hold prisoner this weft yarn by coming to cover the upper and lower ends of the latter but without necessarily being straddled on, and therefore directly in contact with this weft thread of the lattice panel.

The free ends of the fingers 12, 13 each comprise a chamfer 16, which are placed opposite to define a passage V between the free ends of the fingers 12, 13 so as to facilitate the passage of the weft yarn of the lattice panel between these fingers 12, 13 when introducing the end of the attachment piece 10 into the notch housing the weft yarn.

This fastener 10 also comprises a recess 17 for the passage of the edge warp thread of the end of the lattice panel, this recess 17 being at least placed on the lateral edge of this part 10 intended to be positioned screwed to -vis the bottom of rabbet of the post in assembly position of the panel and this post.

In this assembly position, this warp 27 border wire is then placed between the fastener 10 and the bottom 24 of rabbet notched pole.

This recess 17 for passage of the warp yarn 27 is here defined by a recess of the remainder of the body of the fastening piece 10 at the level of the connection of the fingers 12, 13 with the rest of this body.

In addition, flexible tongues 18 ensure that the fastening piece 10 is adapted to lattice panels having different wire diameters so as to keep the edging edge warp 27 against the bottom 24 of the rebate of the post. notches.

These tongues 18 elongated and oriented in the longitudinal direction of the part 10, thus advantageously make it possible to eliminate the noise generated by parasitic vibrations.

Since the attachment piece 10 has a transverse dimension greater than that of the notch 30 in which the free ends of its fingers 12, 13 are intended to be introduced, each finger 12, 13 comprises a shoulder 32 so that its free ends can be introduced into the notch 30 housing said weft thread 28.

The Figures 2 to 4 show a notched fence / lattice panel assembly having undulating profile warp yarns and a fastener according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

The fence post 19 consists of a section for example of steel or any other material defining on two opposite side faces of the post 19 two rabbets 20 or symmetrical housing, identical and generally rectangular shape, being back to back. The fence post 19 has front and rear faces 21, 22 curved.

On one side and / or the other, the post 19 can receive the side edge or slice of a panel 23 lattice, which then engages in the rabbet 20, or housing, corresponding.

Each rabbet 20 is delimited by a bottom 24 and two flanks 25, 26 which are placed opposite. Each flank 25, 26 has no portion protruding from the remainder of this flank towards the inside of the rabbet 20, particularly at the entrance thereof, so that the space separating said flanks is completely free at this entrance for allow the introduction of said corrugated profile of the edge warp wire of the panel 23. The distance separating these flanks 25, 26 is equal to or substantially equal to the width of said corrugation profile over the entire depth of the rabbet.

The panels 23 are conventional and of the lattice type consisting of round metal wires 27 and weft 28, the warp son 27 having in place corrugations, of which only one is shown on the Figures 2 to 4 .

The warp yarn 27 of the panel is intended to be engaged in the rebate 20 of the notched pole, the plane containing the corrugations of said warp yarn 27 being then perpendicular to the weft yarns 28 and parallel, or substantially parallel at the flat bottom wall 24 of the rabbet 20.

One 26 of the flanks of the rabbet 20 is provided with a groove 29 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the post 19. This groove 29 has a semicircle section equal here to the diameter of the warp 27 border wire.

Since the fence post 19 advantageously makes it possible to work with several diameters of warp threads, the diameter of this groove 29 could be greater than the diameter of the warp thread 27.

This post 19 has on its flank 25 opposite the flank 26 intended to receive the peaks of the corrugations, notches 30.

These notches 30 which are placed along the length of the post 19, are intended to receive only some of the weft son 28 of the panel 23 lattice, that is to say those which are integral with the straight portions, or substantially straight , 27 edge warp thread, placed between the corrugations.

When the panel 23 and the post 19 are in the assembly position, as illustrated by the Figures 3 and 4 , the vertices of the corrugations of the edge warp thread 27 are partially engaged in the groove 29, while the straight, or substantially linear, portions of this warp thread 27 placed between its corrugations are substantially in contact with the flank 25 the rebate opposite the flank 26 comprising this groove 29. The weft son integral with these straight portions, or substantially linear, are in turn received in the notches 30 projecting into a housing 31 of post defined by the hollow portion of the wing 21 of the post 19 carrying the notches 30.

As shown in Figure 4 once the panel 23 is trapped between two posts 19, some weft son 28 of the panel 23 are housed in the notches 30 being trapped by the fingers of the fasteners 10 so that the panel 23 can no longer be removed except by destroying it. The inviolability of the fence by raising the panel 23 is provided precisely by the horizontal weft son engaged in the notches 30 and the imprisonment in their notch 30 of each of the horizontal weft son by the corresponding fasteners 10.

The horizontal weft son of the panel 23 being thus imprisoned, while ensuring the inviolability of the fence, it is thus possible to tilt the panels 23 relative to the pole so that these panels form an angle with the post.

The Figures 5 and 6 show a partial top view of a fence in which two panels are assembled with fixing pieces 10 of the Fig. 1 giving a sharp angle to the fence. It should be noted that Free ends of the fingers 12, 13 of these fasteners 10 were inserted into notches 30 of the post not receiving weft yarn 28. Thus, if the spacing between the fingers 12, 13 of the fastener 10 allows here to pass a weft thread 28 housed in a notch 30, the fastener of the invention can be mounted in the rabbet 20 of a post with the end of its fingers 12, 13 inserted into a notch 30 receiving no weft yarn 28 while fulfilling its role of maintaining the warp yarn 27 and allowing to create an angle between the post and the welded mesh panel 23.

Claims (15)

1. Part for attaching a mesh panel to a fence post, said fence post including on at least one of its side walls a rabbet (20) comprising a bottom and two flanges (25, 26), said rabbet (20) being intended to receive one end of a panel (23) comprising a warped edge chain (27) with a corrugated profile and weft threads (28), one of said flanges (25, 26) of said rabbet (20) comprising notches (30) for receiving and housing the end of at least some of said weft threads (28) of said panel (23) so as to enable said corrugated profile to be inserted into said at least one rabbet (20), said notches (30) communicating with a post housing (31),
   characterised in that

   - said attachment part which is extended, comprises at one of its ends, two fingers (12, 13), at least the free ends of which are at least partially spaced apart from each other,

   - each free end of said fingers (12, 13) supporting a pin (14) directed outwards from the part, said pins (14) being positioned laterally to said part,

   - at least said pins (14) are designed to be received in said post housing (31) when the free ends of said fingers are inserted into a notch (30) to allow for the assembly of said end of the part to said flange (25) comprising the notches (30),

   - said part comprising a recess (17) for the passage of the warped edge chain (27) of said panel so that said warped edge chain (27) is positioned between said part and said bottom (24) of the rabbet in the position for assembling said panel to said post.
2. Part according to claim 1, characterised in that said part is configured to receive a weft thread (28) between said fingers when the free ends of said fingers (12, 13) are inserted into a notch (30) housing the end of a weft thread (28).
3. Part according to claim 2, characterised in that at least the free ends of said fingers (12, 13) are at least partially spaced apart from each other by a distance at least equal to the diameter of said weft threads or substantially equal to the diameter of said weft threads (28).
4. Part according to claim 3, characterised in that, said part comprising a main body, said fingers (12, 13) are spaced apart throughout their length by a distance at least equal to the diameter of said weft threads (28) by forming the branches of a U-shape secured to said main body.
5. Part according to claim 2, characterised in that said part is made from a deformable material such that, the ends of said fingers (12, 13) being pressed against said weft thread during the insertion of the free ends of said fingers (12, 13) in said notch (30) housing said weft thread, said fingers (12, 13) move away from each other to mount said weft thread, said pins (14) thus being moved and received in the post housing (31).
6. Part according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that at least one portion of each of said pins (14) is rounded such that said pins (14) form a rotational axis of the part positioned outside of the rabbet when the free ends of said fingers (12, 13) have been inserted into a notch.
7. Part according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that said pins (14) comprise at least one chamfer to ease the engagement of said pins (14) in said post housing (31).
8. Part according to any one of claims 1 to 7 characterised in that, at least one portion of said recess (17) for the passage of the warped edge chain (27) being formed by said fingers (12, 13), at least one of said fingers (12, 13) comprises a tab (18) intended to press said warped chain (27) against the bottom of the rabbet (24) in the position for assembling said panel to said post (19).
9. Part according to any one of claims 1 to 8 characterised in that, said part having a transverse dimension greater than that of said notch (30), at least one of said fingers (12, 13) comprises a shoulder (32) such that the free ends of said fingers (12, 13) can be inserted into said notch (30).
10. Part according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the free ends of said fingers (12 ,13) each comprise a chamfer (16), said chamfers being positioned opposite each other to define a V-shaped passageway between said free ends so as to ease the passage of said weft thread (28).
11. Part according to any one of claims 1 to 10 characterised in that, the other flange of said rabbet comprising a groove (29), the other end (11) of said part is rounded so as to be inserted into said groove (29).
12. Part according to any one of claims 1 to 10 characterised in that, the other flange of said rabbet comprising a projection, said fingers (12, 13) are secured to a main body of said part intended to rest against the bottom of the rabbet, the other end of said part being formed by a bent portion of said main body, intended to rest against said protrusion to ensure the attachment of the part with said flange.
13. Part according to claim 12, characterised in that said bent portion has a V-shaped cut-out forming two points intended to rest against said protrusion to ensure the attachment of the part with said flange.
14. Part according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterised in that it is made from spring steel, plastic or Zamac.
15. Fence comprising posts between which extend panels assembled to said posts, each of said posts comprising on at least one of its side walls a housing receiving the end of a panel, this end of said panel comprising a warped edge chain (27) with a corrugated profile and weft threads, characterised in that at least one of said posts comprises an attachment part according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

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