GB2248642A

GB2248642A - Fence panel fixing bracket

Info

Publication number: GB2248642A
Application number: GB9022012A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul John Furr; Donald Furr
Original assignee: Furfix Products Ltd
Current assignee: Furfix Products Ltd
Priority date: 1990-10-10
Filing date: 1990-10-10
Publication date: 1992-04-15
Anticipated expiration: 2010-10-10
Also published as: GB9022012D0; GB2248642B

Abstract

A fence panel fixing bracket 1 comprises an elongate plate foldable or folded into a substantially U-shape having two end portions 3a, 3b interconnected by a web portion 4, the end portions having a first set of fixing holes 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b for attaching the bracket to a face of a fence panel and, along at one edge, spaced apart, turned-up flanges 9a, 9b each having a second set of fixing holes 10a, 10b for attaching the bracket to a fence post, the zones of the plate between the web and each of the two end portions having a row of cutouts 5a, 5b which give a reduced resistance to bending to facilitate bending of the plate into shape around the edge of the fence panel. <IMAGE>

Description

FENCE PANEL FIXING SYSTEM The present invention relates to a fence panel fixing system and in particular to a fence fixing bracket and to a fence panel fixture kit comprising at least one pair of such brackets.

According to the present invention, there is provided a fence panel fixing bracket comprising an elongate plate foldable or folded into a substantially U-shape having two end portions interconnected by a web portion, the end portions having first fixing means for attaching the bracket to a face of a fence panel and along at one edge, spaced apart, turned-up flanges having second fixing means for attaching the bracket to a fence post, the zones of the plate between the web and each of the two end portions having a reduced resistance to bending to facilitate bending of the plate around the edge of the fence panel.

The bracket can thus be sold in a flat pack format and be bent to shape on site by the end user. The bracket is intended to appeal to the DIY market but is equally applicable for professional use.

The frame nails of fence panels are not all of the same thickness, but the bracket can readily be adapted to account for the variations found in the majority of cases.

Preferably, therefore the zones are sufficiently wide to enable the lines along which folding occurs to vary to adapt to differing thickness of fence panel.

Conveniently, the zones of reduced thickness are each provided by a row of stamped-out through holes.

The fixing means may simply be through holes through the plate. Preferably one such through hole on each of the end portions of the plate is a slot which is elongated in a direction parallel to the fixing zones so that the bracket can be loosely tacked by means of nails to the fence panel, so that once the panel is offered up to the fence post, there can be some adjustment of the position of the bracket before it is fixed in its final position.

The invention will be further described by way of non-limitative example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the present invention; Figures 2a-2d illustrate the use of the fixing bracket of figure 1; and Figure 3 illustrates an additional bracket.

The fence panel fixing bracket shown in figure 1 is fabricated from stamped and folded sheet metal blanks and comprises an elongate main section 2 having two end portions 3a, 3b interconnected by a web 4. The web 4 is provided with two parallel rows of aligned, rectangular cutouts 5a, 5b which provide two parallel zones 6a, 6b of reduced resistance to bending about which the end portions 3a, 3b can be folded into the plane of the figure (see also figures 2a-2c) when fitting the bracket to a fence panel. During installation the web 4 is first placed over the top edge of the fence panel, after which the side end portions 3a, 3b can be bent over to overlie the opposed faces of the fence panel frame.

Each of the end portions 3a, 3b is provided with an elongate fixing slot 7a, 7b extending parallel to the fold lines 6a, 6b, to provide for lengthwise position adjustment along the panel frame (see figure 2c), a round fixing 8a, 8b hole for final fixing (figure 2d) and a turned-up flange 9a, 9b which is at right angles to the plane of the end portions 3a, 3b and web 4 in their flattened, unused condition. Note that for ease of illustration in figure 1 the flanges 9a, 9b are shown in the plane of the plate, whereas they are actually at right angles to it. The flanges 9a, 9b extend only part way towards the web region 4 so that their inner termini are spaced outwardly somewhat from the cutouts 5a, 5b.

The flanges 9 have one or more fixing holes such as 10a, lOb (preferably, of course, at least two each) to allow the bracket to be nailed or screwed to a fence post (figure 2d) or other support. Bolt holes could be provided instead as or as well as the holes 10a, lOb for allowing the bracket to be attached to a support which requires the use of a bolt, eg, concrete fence posts.

It will be noted that the end portions 3a, 3b have respective rectangular or square cutouts lla, llb. The reason for this is primarily aesethic, so that the edge of the bracket as viewed from the side follows the contour of the frame of the fence panel.

The row of aligned, rounded-ended elongate holes 12 on the centre line of the bracket provides a fold line of reduced resistance to bending to enable the bracket to be folded around a fence rail having an arris rather than the flat top illustrated in figures 2A-D.

In use, a pair of the brackets 1 is used at each end of the fence panel, one above the top rail of the fence and the other below the bottom rail. The instructions for installing the bracket are as follows: 1. Centralise the bracket in a corner of the panel with the turned up flanges 9a, 9b pointing up and flush to the edge of the panel (figure 2A).

2. Apply each pressure to end portions 3a, 3b of the bracket and wrap it around the panel (figure 2B).

3. Nail the brackets through the elongated slots 7a, 7b, positioning the nails at the end of the slot nearest the panel edge whilst the flanges are flush with the edge (figure 2C); this allows for adjustment when fixing the panel to the posts.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each bracket.

5. Position the panel between the posts using off cuts of wood etc, to level it at the correct height or if gravel boards are being used place the panel on them.

6. Nail the brackets onto the posts.

7. Fix the remaining two nails into each bracket (figure 2D).

8. Large fence panels may need additional fixing in the centre with the L-shaped brackets 20 shown in figure 3 to stop any future bowing. As shown, these brackets have two in-line holes 21a, 21b for nails to the fence post and diagonal holes 22a, 22b for nails to the panel.

A panel fixture kit for retail purposes, conveniently comprises a package containing four panel fixing brackets, two of the L-shaped brackets and 40 galvanised nails.

It should be noted that in this specification and the appended claims, expressions such as "parallel", "right angles", etc, are not intended to imply geometrical exactitude but simply a sufficiently close approximation thereto for practical utility.

Claims

1. A fence panel fixing bracket comprising an elongate plate foldable or folded into a substantially Ushape having two end portions interconnected by a web portion, the end portions having first fixing means for attaching the bracket to a face of a fence panel and along at one edge, spaced apart, turned-up flanges having second fixing means for attaching the bracket to a fence post, the zones of the plate between the web and each of the two end portions having a reduced resistance to bending to facilitate bending of the plate around the edge of the fence panel.

2. A fence panel fixing bracket according to claim 1, wherein the zones are sufficiently wide to enable the lines along which folding occurs to vary to adapt to differing thickness of fence panel.

3. A fence panel fixing bracket according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the zones are each provided by a row of stamped-out through holes.

4. A fence bracket fixing panel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first and second fixing means each comprise a pair of through-holes through the plate.

5. A fence bracket fixing panel according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first fixing means end comprise a slot elongated in the direction parallel to said zones, so that the bracket can be tacked to the fence panel by means of a nail through each slot and the position of the bracket along the fence panel can be adjusted.

6. A fence bracket fixing panel according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the end portions of the bracket has a cut-away corner at its outer extremity at its lateral edge opposite the one at which the flange is provided.

7. A fence bracket fixing panel constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

8. A fence panel fixture bit comprising a package containing at least one pair of brackets according to any one of the preceding claims and a number of nails at least equal to the number of through-holes constituting the first and second fixing means.

9. A kit according to claim 8 and including at least one pair of L-shaped brackets each having a row of fixing holes to enable it to be nailed to a vertical rail of the fence panel and to the fence post.